Unchain my Heart
The work creates a secular and contemporary version of a classic Madonna. In the central part, an image of an African-American woman holds a bright red three-dimensional heart in her hand, against a background of wood painted with naive motifs. In the upper part, like a neo-Gothic frame, leather reins intended for the control of a cavalry hold two images of the vision of Bernadette Subirou in the cave of Lourdes, one glued onto a circular piece of wood and the other illuminated and upside down. All of this imbues the air of a small domestic chapel. The title calls for the liberation of a heart, imprisoned in love. <\/p>\n\n
(Paris, 1936)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n All of Jean-Jacques Lebel’s works are created by assembling objects found or collected throughout the artist’s life. None of them are the result of traditional artistic techniques. We could speak of a collage or assemblage guided by a sudden idea.