20.09.23 in ambassadeurs
yassine mekhnache
Coming from the graffiti scene, Yassine Mekhnache is a contemporary French artist who combines painting and embroidery techniques in works at the crossroads of cultures. he presented his murdiya exhibition at gallery 19M in fall 2022.
How do you present yourself when you talk about yourself and your job?
I am a painter-embroiderer. it's not a common profession, but I integrated embroidery into my painting around fifteen years ago while working with artisans around the world. I started with Morocco, then India in Pondicherry and now northern Nigeria. today, I am starting a collaboration in Dakar.
Has this profession and this vocation always been obvious to you? a few words about your journey?
I was born a painter (laughs). In my oldest memories, I have always painted. I went through graffiti, it was my school. I didn't study fine arts, I didn't have an artistic course, but the practice of graffiti awakened in me a whole research around portraiture, which led me towards abstraction, then towards embroidery.
Initially, it was hip-hop and rap that introduced me to graffiti. it was the first practice we had. it was the simplest, most accessible around us. With the friends I was with at the time, we were fervent activists of the thing. we painted a lot of trains, we were hyperactive on that during adolescence. and then today, it’s really something that concerns my privacy. It's not something I necessarily declare when I talk about my work, but it's my school.
Who are the people who, according to you, constitute references in this field?
my references are more in the realm of poetry or music or things like that. I have been interested for a long time in Farid Al-Din Attar, who is a Persian poet from the 12th century. he spoke of 30 birds to speak of men, 30 birds for 30 human psychological criteria. From this text, I invented an Indo-Moroccan embroidery. it was the first point of fusion between two types of embroidery which were very far apart on the world map, but which were in fact very close in certain practices. I took movements in Morocco and we worked as a sort of illumination on Moroccan embroidery by working in topstitching. it's Indian embroidery on Moroccan embroidery.
How do you present yourself when you talk about yourself and your job?
I am a painter-embroiderer. it's not a common profession, but I integrated embroidery into my painting around fifteen years ago while working with artisans around the world. I started with Morocco, then India in Pondicherry and now northern Nigeria. today, I am starting a collaboration in Dakar.
Has this profession and this vocation always been obvious to you? a few words about your journey?
I was born a painter (laughs). In my oldest memories, I have always painted. I went through graffiti, it was my school. I didn't study fine arts, I didn't have an artistic course, but the practice of graffiti awakened in me a whole research around portraiture, which led me towards abstraction, then towards embroidery.
Initially, it was hip-hop and rap that introduced me to graffiti. it was the first practice we had. it was the simplest, most accessible around us. With the friends I was with at the time, we were fervent activists of the thing. we painted a lot of trains, we were hyperactive on that during adolescence. and then today, it’s really something that concerns my privacy. It's not something I necessarily declare when I talk about my work, but it's my school.
Who are the people who, according to you, constitute references in this field?
my references are more in the realm of poetry or music or things like that. I have been interested for a long time in Farid Al-Din Attar, who is a Persian poet from the 12th century. he spoke of 30 birds to speak of men, 30 birds for 30 human psychological criteria. From this text, I invented an Indo-Moroccan embroidery. it was the first point of fusion between two types of embroidery which were very far apart on the world map, but which were in fact very close in certain practices. I took movements in Morocco and we worked as a sort of illumination on Moroccan embroidery by working in topstitching. it's Indian embroidery on Moroccan embroidery.
“I am deeply convinced that there is no problem in repetition, on the contrary. to get to the bottom of things, you have to dig the same hole all your life, anchor yourself there, and from there, give people as much as possible to dream about. »
What would you like people to say about you and your work years from now?
that I am a kind of embroidery adventurer! (laughs)
What compliment means the most to you about your work?
I am deeply convinced that there is no problem in repetition, on the contrary. to get to the bottom of things, you have to dig the same hole all your life, anchor yourself there, and from there, give people as much as possible to dream about. what interests me is what people do with my painting and my practice, what they do with it inside themselves.
favorite themes in your creative approach?
the song of the birds has been a long theme in my embroidery practice. I also worked on a portrait, a completely imaginary portrait. at a certain point, we could even talk about self-portraits, but they were psychological portraits where the colors revealed thoughts, things like that.
and what are your favorite materials, shapes or patterns?
mainly embroidery, gold thread and silver thread. These are elements that were really very marked in my work with the practice of the fez stitch. It was really 10 years of my artistic life.
the fez point is a counted point. it is a geometric stitch which can be floral or in different styles, but which is very often worked either with gold thread, red thread, black thread, or silver thread. and that’s really a color code that I kept for a long time in embroidery.
that I am a kind of embroidery adventurer! (laughs)
What compliment means the most to you about your work?
I am deeply convinced that there is no problem in repetition, on the contrary. to get to the bottom of things, you have to dig the same hole all your life, anchor yourself there, and from there, give people as much as possible to dream about. what interests me is what people do with my painting and my practice, what they do with it inside themselves.
favorite themes in your creative approach?
the song of the birds has been a long theme in my embroidery practice. I also worked on a portrait, a completely imaginary portrait. at a certain point, we could even talk about self-portraits, but they were psychological portraits where the colors revealed thoughts, things like that.
and what are your favorite materials, shapes or patterns?
mainly embroidery, gold thread and silver thread. These are elements that were really very marked in my work with the practice of the fez stitch. It was really 10 years of my artistic life.
the fez point is a counted point. it is a geometric stitch which can be floral or in different styles, but which is very often worked either with gold thread, red thread, black thread, or silver thread. and that’s really a color code that I kept for a long time in embroidery.
“embroidery, gold thread and silver thread are elements that have been really very marked in my work with the practice of fez stitch. It was really 10 years of my artistic life. »
your biggest challenge achieved or to be achieved?
My biggest challenge is to remain consistent in my practice. and then for the rest, we'll see.
If you weren't an artist, what job would you do?
honestly, I don't know, I have no idea. I don’t see myself doing anything else and I’ve never seen myself doing anything else; I think I'm in my place.
What is the city that inspires you or resembles you the most?
I think it's Lagos. It’s madness over there! more than 15 million inhabitants, with 70% of the population under 25 years old! you take new york and miami, you mix them together and it's lagos. It's incredible there today. it's really the city where I felt the most powerful energy in art, in music, in painting, or in the world of the night. it's a city that almost scares me because it's so roaring!
My biggest challenge is to remain consistent in my practice. and then for the rest, we'll see.
If you weren't an artist, what job would you do?
honestly, I don't know, I have no idea. I don’t see myself doing anything else and I’ve never seen myself doing anything else; I think I'm in my place.
What is the city that inspires you or resembles you the most?
I think it's Lagos. It’s madness over there! more than 15 million inhabitants, with 70% of the population under 25 years old! you take new york and miami, you mix them together and it's lagos. It's incredible there today. it's really the city where I felt the most powerful energy in art, in music, in painting, or in the world of the night. it's a city that almost scares me because it's so roaring!
“le gramme creations are timeless and easy to wear every day. here, I wear 3, like my 3 children, so it may remain something that will follow me in my daily life. »
what is important in your life?
without hesitation my family and my 3 children! chahin, 16 years old, gina, 9 years old, and jafar, 5 years old. they light up my days and my nights!
They would also like to be artists when they grow up, the little one would even like to be a singer of colors…
Finally, what do le gramme's creations inspire you?
I find that these are things that can be worn every day. they are timeless and easy to wear every day. here, I wear 3, like my 3 children, so it may remain something that will follow me in my daily life.
and if le gramme were one of your works, what would it be like?
it would be a fairly refined and abstract embroidery on a white or black canvas. it would obviously be made of gold and silver thread, with a lot of roundness in the pattern. It could be quite beautiful indeed!
without hesitation my family and my 3 children! chahin, 16 years old, gina, 9 years old, and jafar, 5 years old. they light up my days and my nights!
They would also like to be artists when they grow up, the little one would even like to be a singer of colors…
Finally, what do le gramme's creations inspire you?
I find that these are things that can be worn every day. they are timeless and easy to wear every day. here, I wear 3, like my 3 children, so it may remain something that will follow me in my daily life.
and if le gramme were one of your works, what would it be like?
it would be a fairly refined and abstract embroidery on a white or black canvas. it would obviously be made of gold and silver thread, with a lot of roundness in the pattern. It could be quite beautiful indeed!
“If le gramme were one of my works, it would be a fairly refined and abstract embroidery on a white or black canvas. it would obviously be made of gold and silver thread, with a lot of roundness in the pattern. »
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