“I want to say one word to you. Just one word…. Plastics.” — Mr. McGuire, The Graduate
I grew up in France. As a teenager, I was contemplating a future that was, frankly, very depressing to me. The expectations of both my family and French culture did not seem to leave me any breathing room. I felt like my life was on rails: I was supposed to get my BAC, get married, have children, spend winter in St. Moritz, and vacation at Club Med. Art was not even a possibility or a glimmer of hope.
In 1984, we moved to Boston. I discovered that American culture rewarded and praised individualism. I could finally invent and re-invent myself anytime, at any age. The cultural yoke was lifted and I was free to experiment and pursue my own dreams.
At the same time, I am still a French person, with strong political opinions, and I am aware of the corrosive influence of American culture abroad. A lot of my motivation to make art comes from this constant dichotomy in my life: this country is my home and not my home; it welcomes me and it rejects me; I love it and I hate it.
My choice of materials reflects this paradoxical view that I have of American culture. Plastic is indispensable and it is completely unnecessary; it is vital to our modern lives and it is harmful to our environment; it is a true technological achievement and a sign of our failure.
About Isabelle Garbani
I am a Brooklyn-based artist and curator, who makes large-scale installations using recycled plastic bags as the main material, and drawing on community-engagement and performance as a major component of the work. I am originally from France, having immigrated to the US in 1984 when I was 17. The move, which was supposed to be temporary, has informed my adult life and my choice of themes and materials in my artwork. Among my public art installations are, “Knit for Trees” in New York City, and Long Island; “Invasive Species” in Taiwan and Wisconsin; “Post War Blues” at the Brooklyn Army Terminal for which I received a Community Arts Grant from the Brooklyn Arts Council; and Les Fleurs du Mal” for the New York City’s Department of Transportation, and the Garment District. After being selected for the Hunts Point Resiliency Artist Residency in the Bronx, I was commissioned in 2018 with my teammate Jeannine Bardo, to develop “Ark for the Arts” as part of the Red Hook Climate Change Public Commission from the New York City Mayor’s office of Recovery and Resiliency. In 2018, I also launched “Life: Immigration Game”, a socially-engaged guerrilla artwork addressing the issues faced by immigrants to the US, for which I received a grant from the Puffin Foundation. I was recently selected as a finalist for a Percent for the Arts project by the Department of Cultural Affairs of New York City, for the renovation of the Bensonhurst Public Library in Brooklyn. I am currently an adjunct professor at Wagner College on Staten Island, where I teach drawing, sculpture, and public art.
