‘La Reine de la Route’, Aluminum Dye Sublimation, 75 X 120 cm (30 X 48 inches), 2018.Citroën, the French automobile... Read More
‘La Reine
de la Route’, Aluminum Dye Sublimation, 75 X 120 cm (30 X 48 inches),
2018.
Citroën, the French automobile manufacturer, introduced in
1934 the revolutionary Traction Avant model - the world's first mass-produced
front-wheel drive car. Until the year 1954 only black Citroën Traction Avant
cars were sold, and in 1939 the 6 cylinders and 15 horsepower model was
unveiled. This model was at the time one of the fastest cars in France, the
prime reason for the French organized crime bosses and the French police alike,
to eagerly adopt it. Thus, the Traction Avant was involved in numerous police-gangsters
pursuits and consequently nicknamed - La Reine de la Route - The Queen of the
Road.
This car triggers my sentimental feelings since it was the
first car I was exposed to as a child. Our neighbor was one of the first
blissful owners of this car, even though he wasn’t neither a police officer nor
a mafia boss, well I cannot be absolutely sure about this latter fact. As a
child, I always have been dreaming that the black car would become colorful,
and the present work is therefore a sheer childhood dream comes true. I made
sure to paint the car meticulously, being loyal to the technical details as
they were in reality, from the windshield wipers to the hood handles. The only
exception lies with the car colors, where my imagination had no restraints.
