With her installations, sculptures and graphic works Katie Lagast calls up a world of her own that challenges the viewer not to take anything for granted. Intuitively drawing on visual clues from a rather desolate urban environment, Lagast preserves slices of space and time few other people care to notice. Her inspiration could be right there on the ground: cigarette buds, cracks, weeds, the pavement, the street of cobble stone and the sunlight that hits it late in the afternoon. Casual as her subjects may appear, Lagast’s thorough formal analysis and admirable eye for detail transform them into objects of beauty and contemplation.

Photographing the moment or making silicon moulds at a certain location, Lagast saves her personal observations from oblivion. However, she only shares her impressions with us after carefully researching the proper materials and reproduction techniques - coincidence is not an option. Lagast’s presentations often depend on the right mood, created by the controlled use of light from a single source. In several installations, she explores how projections of light and shadow influence people’s experience of a particular room. Sometimes a subtly shifting focus can induce a sense of floating in viewers who stay and watch long enough

Apart from being a romantic, Lagast is a bit of a tease, really, who loves to challenge people’s perceptions and enjoys it profoundly when her work confuses the viewers. She cherishes under-valued aspects of life and draws attention to them in such a way that they can no longer be ignored. Her pieces can cover the exhibition floor, block the entrance or be too large to remain unnoticed. In her most recent work this concept of blocking passage takes on a more critical, even political meaning, with the development of a production process that allows her to quickly draw up a wall of ceramic jersey barriers, inevitably referring to other dividing walls.

Underneath this intricate and diverse body of work lies a strong unifying paradox: there is nothing trivial about life but people tend to get distracted by paying too much attention to trivialities. Lagast constantly asks us to consider what is actually worth our time – and then to reconsider...
Text: Nanne Op 't Ende


www.katielagast.com
www.katielagast.wordpress.com

Since 1979 I am working as an independent designer of (mostly small) objects such as jewellery and bags.
In my designs elements like form, structure, material, function and colour play an important part.
A characteristic aspect of my work is the unusual application of quite diverse materials. Working with glass has been a big challenge for me.

At first I did a lot of experiments with glass to see how it reacts, and to discover which techniques are interesting for me.
After that I made jewellery out of bottlenecks, melted together in the kiln.
With help of a mould of plaster with the imprint of my hand, I made a glass bowl and we also blew an old bottle in the mould.

These nine days have been a real eye-opener for me.
It was very unique to be able to work with 4 professional glass masters.
I hope that this was the start to make more beautiful glass products in the future.
 
www.mariahees.kunstinzicht.nl