Olga Kataeva Rochford. ’Gare Du Nord’. Retablo / Mechanical Book

’Gare du Nord’ Retablo / Mechnaical Book Wood, metal, cork, papier mâché, acrylic, tempera, chalk paint. 31 x 30 x 18 cm. 2021From 2012 to 2014, I volunteered in the Restaurants du cœur, a French charity. Once a week, I helped out with the distribution of hot meals on a Parisian street. This experience gave birth to an art project. At the end of the distribution of the meals, I drew portraits of two or three beneficiaries and asked them questions about their origins, dreams and goals. At home, I recorded on my book our conversations and finished the portraits, then offered copies to my mechanical book is dedicated to one of my models from that period. A sunny person (I’m not sure I spelt his name correctly), with a kind smile and eyes that shone with a gentle light. On the flaps of the book are extracts from our conversation one humid evening in Paris, on the Avenue du Trône, by the light of a street lamp.- No, I don’t know the origin of my name, sorry. Ma