practice. So the question is often; what am I going to use this time? I picked up wood for this sculpture because of the resemblance some can have to an elastic band. I want to reproduce a twisted elastic band stretched around three different points on a large scale. Throughout my research I found a relevant wood called skin ply that has the particularity of being very easy to manipulate. The process consists in dividing the wood boards in strips then joining two together while twisting them to let the glue dry and set it on the position you want. This process has to be reproduced until the right amount to assemble the sculpture. After I’ve finished the model, I realized it wasn’t even close to the size
I had in mind. I expended everything and ended up making a sculpture composed of a ridiculous amount of wood pieces. Of course after the construction part of a sculpture, you probably have twice as much time with the finishing.
W: How is space important to this particular work?
Tom Ribot: For a certain amount of my sculptures and installations, I have dreamed of a different interaction the public could have with my art. I designed this sculpture with this thought in mind. I want the public to be able to go through, to stay inside if they want to. I want them to have the ability of discovering the sculpture from all the possible angles. To answer
the initial question, I think space is important but not in a site-specific way, simply in the quantity of space it gives around the sculpture. The sculpture has a very different aesthetic seen from a distance.
W: You have worked with steal before that you also twisted, the curve seems to repeat itself in your work, do you know why?
Tom Ribot: Do I know why? Not exactly, it suggests a lot of different possibilities. It might be related to certain objects I have seen my father making, respecting a certain guidance I could have perceive through his work. There is a large amount of my sub-conscience that takes control in my practice, it has