Jacqueline Lecarme – Collectors’ Island
May 25, 2019 3:25 pmThe Belgian artist Jacqueline Lecarme has been collecting objects made of the plastic compound Galalith (aka Erinoid) for more than 30 years. She uses these pieces to create what she calls “a world of fantasy made of combs, hair grips, buttons, belt buckles, and other feminine accessories.” Her pieces — long-legged, bug-eyed spiders, a diamond-stealing crow, a dog with its tongue hanging out — invade every corner of her home in Brussels.
Each year the Genevan watchmaker Vacheron Constantin releases an art book titled Collectors’ Island, this year I photographed the entire book and this is one of ten stories included.
Many thanks to Bradley Seymour for the invaluable creative direction, and to Lara Lo Calzo for her exceptional work as Editorial Manager. All text and captions written by Virginie Bertrand.
Jacqueline Lecarme’s studio on the first floor of her house which was built in 1904.
Some of the thousands of pieces collected and sorted by the artist. She displays the most exceptional in their original form, arranged on velvet-lined trays; the others become elementsin her sculptures. On the left: a selection of milled Galalith buttons from the 1930s. On the right: Galalith belt buckles from the1930s.
Lecarme's whimsical creatures, crafted using bits and pieces of Galalith, line the top of her fireplace.
Former United States Secretary of State, and an avid pin collector, owns one of Lecarme's pins.
Jacqueline Lecarme surrounded by creations she has crafted using pieces and accessories made of Galalith from the 1930s, mainly gleaned from the flea market in Place du Jeu de Balle in Brussels.
Ms. Lecarme's workspace.