Artist Statement
I am totally absorbed and compelled to feel and to listen the consciousness of being grounded on the conviction of one universal energy which runs through everything. The invisible presence of consciousness, like an elusive shadow, has fascinated me since childhood before I could even name it. Subsequently, 20 years of teaching yoga has slowly resulted in an endeavour to reveal the invisible by unveiling what is felt beyond form.
Thus, the aim of my performances is to bind with all that exists and further my understanding of this connection, making a statement that is the most truthful. In doing so, the silent presence of my body is the essential tool, the unique substance of my work. Each time I have to break my narcissistic shell and abandon any “act of heroism” to be able to return to the larger Self and bear others.
I usually build my performances through the installation of other forms of artworks like sculpture, photography, paintings or videos. Acting like an opening, these then help the audience to enter fully into a world of experience. I use my art as rituals to offer intimacy, for the audience to feel more than to see. The audience is therefore at the very heart of the action. My pieces are all about their response to me.
I believe in change by transforming what has been learned into new perspectives. I hope to be able one day to transcend the limits of the expressible.
BIO
Isabelle Derigo is a performance artiste born in Geneva, Switzerland. Her investigation into the creative process has led her to work with numerous mediums as painting, photography, sculpture, and video. She has traveled extensively in the USA, India, and Australia exploring the ‘’ancient soul’’ and experimental art to develop her own genre. Always pushing back the limits of performance, Isabelle incorporates in her work her strong yoga background as an art medium in itself inscribe now in art history.
From 2008 to 2010, Isabelle collaborated with the photographer Thomas Dorn on a large live performance work on the subject of consciousness. Developed in five series of photographs, The Yoke, has become her Manifesto.
Isabelle has done over fifteen solo exhibitions as well as numerous international group shows. In addition, each year she exhibits her work in Greece, where she now lives. Isabelle also spontaneously created performance pieces during her stay in California, USA, in 2017. These questioned the status of art through the vehicle of fashion shows. Prior, between 2015 and 2016, Isabelle already had confronted this question by creating a series of dinner performances around the five senses called Taste Your Taste. These incorporated food from gourmet chefs as part of the experience.
Isabelle has participated in several Art Fairs including numerous appearances in Puls'Art at Le Mans, France, in 2018 and 2019. Her flagship work, The Yoke, has been widely exhibited since 2012 from the Art Fair FotoFever in Brussels to Foto Freo Art Fair in Perth, Australia. Her artworks are part of a number of Collections including that of the Fonds International d'Art Actuel, (FIAA), in Le Mans. Isabelle has contributed to numerous publications, in Switzerland and abroad, and was registered on the Artsy art platform in 2020.
Solo Exhibitions & Performances
2021 Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all..., exhibition, Town Hall of Syros, Greece.
2020 Sexy Plexy kai Plastiki, exhibition, Plastico Gallery, Syros, Greece.
2019 Iconic Mantra, with Salvatore Cultrera, Performance Piece, LIF festival, Greece.
2018 Alive Memory, Performance Piece, LIF festival, Sikinos, Greece.
2016 Moi-Ghost, exhibition-performance, Gallery Kugler, Geneva, Switzerland.
2016 Out Loud, performance, Unwrap the present, Bern, Switzerland.
2015-2016 Taste Your Taste, five dinner-performances on the five sens, Geneva, Switzerland.
2015 Kill Me Inside, exhibition-performance, Gallery Espace L, Geneva. Switzerland.
2014 Moi-Femme… Moi-Peau, exhibition-performance, Orisa Studio, Geneva, Switzerland.
2014 Exit, performance, Emergency 2, Art center Kugler, Geneva, Switzerland
2013 The Yoke, exhibition, Corbel Gallery, Paris, France.
2012 The Yoke, exhibition, Walter Keller Gallery , Zurich, Switzerland.
2012 Mandala My Love, exhibition, L’Horloge Gallery , Geneva, Switzerland.
2011 The Yoke, exhibition, Corbel Gallery, Paris, France
Group Shows
2017 Catchrecycled, installation, Ferme Sarasin, Grand-Saconnex, Switzerland.
2014 Exit, performance, gallery B, Betton- Rennes, France.
2014 Respirez Verre, installation, Arte Fact, Satigny, Switzerland.
2012 An Organized Chaos: Mondrian and the Flower of Life, La Mansarde Gallery , Veyrier, Switzerland.
2011 The Yoke, as part of PURE, Bailly Contemporary Gallery, Geneva, Switzerland.
2010 Mandalas et Moi, La Primaire Gallery, Geneva, Switzerland.
Art Fairs
2020 SWISSARTEXPO, Zurich, Switzerland.
2018-2019 Puls'Art, le Mans, France.
2012 The Yoke, FOTOFEVER, Brussels, Belgium.
2012 The Yoke, FotoFreo, Perth, Australia.
Collections
2019 Collection Lucien Ruimy at FIAA, Fonds International d'Art Actuel, Le Mans, France.
2017 Private Collection of contemporary art David Brolliet, Geneva, Switzerland.
2014 Private Collection of contemporary art Robert Fehlman, Geneva, Switzerland.
2012 Private Collection of contemporary art Noga Rappaport, Geneva, Switzerland.
