Artist Statement
I believe in the existence of one universal energy which links everything. Its invisible presence has followed me since childhood. Over my 20 years of teaching yoga I have learned to recognise it by listening to the body. My art is totally compelled to live this state of consciousness.
The aim of my performances is to bind the body to its emotional experiences. In doing so, it is the silent presence of my being that is the essential tool, the unique substance of my work. Each time I further this connection making a statement that is the most truthful with who I am. I also have to break my narcissistic shell and abandon any “act of heroism”, to be able to return to the larger Self. It is this balance of consciousness that I propose to discover.
In my performances, the audience is therefore at the very heart of the subject. My art is grounded in those of rituals offering the people, often one by one, the necessary space to feel pure intimacy with themselves. My pieces are all about their response.
Paradoxically, to help people to enter fully into this elusive world of immateriality, I create other forms of artwork (sculpture, photography, paintings or videos) that I expose with the performances. These intriguing or reassuring objects form a key part of my research.
I believe in change by transforming what has been learned into new perspectives, and one day I hope to be able to transcend their limits.
BIO
Isabelle Derigo is a Performance Artist born in Geneva, Switzerland. Her investigation into the creative process has led her to work with numerous mediums: 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, she incorporates in her work her strong yoga background as an art medium in itself.
From 2008 to 2011, Isabelle collaborated with the Photographer Thomas Dorn to develop five series of life photographed performances on the subject of consciousness. This enduring work, call The Yoke, has given birth to an artist book that became her manifesto.
Isabelle has presented 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. Inspired by her two years stay, in California, USA, between 2016 and 2017, Isabelle created performance pieces, entitled Best Buy, questioning the status of art through the vehicle of fashion shows. This question she had already confronted, between 2015 and 2016, by creating a series of five dinner-performances around the five senses called Taste Your Taste. These performances, with the participation of Gourmet Chefs, incorporated food to form 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. She 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.
