Elston Barrow, 2026. (Bijlmermeerseries Chapter II)
Ink, plastic, on zinc etching plates. Mounted on Hardwood. 3 x 5 x 100 cm.
I have been working on the second chapter of ‘Bijlmermeer’ series for a while. It revolves around bike repair man Elston Barrow (El Bike) from my neighborhood. While I was visiting him regularly for coffee and to make a drawing on my zinc plates, I liked learning that he not only repairs bikes, but takes care of their owners too sometimes. His workshop is full of broken parts and left over bikes. And he still fixes tires.
This work is made by etching a photo collage of different visits to the workshop, into the zinc plates. The ink film, is partly soaked of the plates, and together with extra plastic sticker, they are partly covering the work with an inverted version of what was seen.
The work on the left (@ART Rotterdam @m.simons) by Jan van der Ploeg is beautifully reflected in the shiny surface of the metal, reminding me of the pink post it notes Elston and his wife use to write down all the phone numbers of their clients.