Mirabilia

Mirabilia explores a vast geographical, historical and aesthetic panorama of works that have been victims of theft, looting or destruction. These stolen masterpieces, which may have disappeared from public and private collections during religious conflicts, wars of conquest or natural disasters, or simply because of human greed, are represented here as luminous spectres. In this small enclosed garden, the harmony of glass, stones and light suggests a kind of cemetery of translucent tombstones, reminding us of the fragile existence of works of art.


Glass plates of varying thickness, cut with a water jet and displaying in their centre the silhouette of a once admired work, were processed and assembled into 38 box shapes to resemble tombstones. Illuminated by light filtering through the textured glass, the objects are stacked in volumes to suggest layers of memory. A cemetery of now-defunct works, Mirabilia glorifies the wonders that we have failed to protect.