The series ‘Douze Douze Douze’ is made in Madagascar during some extensive travels in 2012 and 2013. I travelled over the island with a small group of local artists, from the eastern part near Morondave, all the way to the south at Fort Dauphine, the most northern point to the high plateau. We crossed savannes, rain forests, lakes and deserts. The Malagashy landscapes are very deverse, from a forest of hundred years old Baobab trees, the so called ‘Renala’, ‘Mother of the forest’, to the ‘Spiny Forest’, woods full of cactusses and Didierecea, a green endemic spine that grows only in the most southern part of the island.

Fish, 2012
Seven wooden canoes on the shore of Belo sur Mer, with seven pairs of knees of fishermen protruding from their boats. There is hardly any fish left in this part of the Mozambique Channel, and fishermen are often out of work and idle.

Blue People, 2012
Six children painted blue, seeking shelter from the sun beneath the roof of their hut, their feet bathed in sunlight. In the past, ‘Blue People’ was a term that referred to slaves.

Mothers of the Forest, 2012
Ten women lying on the ground, their legs raised against the trunk of an endemic Baobab tree, which is called Renala, ‘Mother of the Forest’. In the novella Le Petit Prince, written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry which is very popular in Madagascar, the Baobab is called the ‘upside down tree’.

Blue Zebu, 2012
An ox (zebu) painted blue standing in the endemic ‘spiky Octopus tree forest’. Originating from a Malagasy legend, the saying ‘to see a blue zebu’ indicates ‘to be lucky’.

Baguette, 2012
A baguette in the air near a rock formation of the High Plateau.

Angèle, 2013
A yellow-faced student and prostitute at the ‘Red Tsingy’ stone formation in the north of Madagascar, where a mixture of yellow wood dust is often used as sunscreen to protect the skin from the strong sunlight.

Red House, 2013
A woman in blue pantyhose, lying on top of an exceptional tall farmhouse on the high plateau.

Sailing Boat, 2012
A sailboat on the coast of Morondave with butcher knives in the foreground. In this part of the Mozambique Channel, not much sea transportation is possible because of severe pirate activities.

Blues, 2012
Eleven girls in various tones of blue pantyhose lying on top of a canoe on the Diego coast. At this most northern point of Madagascar, the sea attains a blue-turquoise colour. In the past, ‘Blue People’ was a term that referred to slaves.

Turtle, 2013
A naked girl on the shore of Lake Itasy covers herself with the shield of a turtle. Many turtle species are endangered in Madagascar because of the flourishing trade in their shields.

Chez Pierrot, 2012
A composite photograph made using two negatives of six brothers and sisters painted blue next to a black zebu, superimposed on a negative of teardrops. In the past, ‘Blue People’ was a term that referred to slaves.

Douze Douze Douze, 2012
Three local men holding white balloons in a lake on 12 December 2012. The white eggs of the extinct elephant bird could reach a length of 35 centimetres, making them the largest eggs on earth. The lake is covered in water hyacinths that suck oxygen from the water and cause the aquatic life to die out.

We Are Not Your Enemies, 2012
Nine metres of yellow fabric stretched through the Renala Baobab forest.



Fish
120 x 150 cm (edition 6)
100 x 125 cm (edition 6)

Blue People
120 x 150 cm (edition 4)
100 x 125 cm (edition 6)
60 x 75 cm (edition 8)

Mothers of the Forest
70 x 210 cm (edition 6)
50 x 150 cm (edition 6)
30 x 90 cm (editie 12)

Blue Zebu
70 x 210 cm (edition 6)
50 x 150 cm (edtion 6)
30 x 90 cm (edition 12)

Baguette
70 x 210 cm (edition 6)
50 x 150 cm (edition 6)

Angèle
80 x 240 cm (edition 4)
50 x 150 cm (edition 8)

Red House
120 x 120 cm (edition 6)
100 x 100 cm (edition 6)
50 x 50 cm (edition 8)

Sailing Boat
120 x 150 cm (edition 6)
100 x 125 cm (edition 6)

Blues
120 x 150 cm (edition 6)
100 x 125 cm (edition 6)

Turtle
60 x 75 cm (edition 8)

Chez Pierrot
100 x 125 cm (edition 6)
60 x 75 cm (edition 8)
32 x 40 cm (edition 15)

Douze Douze Douze
80 x 200 cm (edition 6)
50 x 125 cm (edition 6)

We are not your Enemies
50 x 150 cm (edtion 6)
30 x 90 cm (edition 12)