Myofibril: Asymptotic | The kiss/Qubla | Refraction

Alexandra Leyre Mein

Alexandra Leyre Mein. Myofibril. courtesy the artist

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The Myofibril sculpture series by Alexandra Leyre Mein were created in response to the wave of attacks in Europe. More generally, the sculptures can be understood as an attempt to grasp the origins of the ignorance or misunderstanding of the other, and ourselves. The sculptures are reminiscent of two bodies facing each other as proud territorial animals; displaying themselves in the most imposing way to intimidate the other. At the same time, they move toward each other as if in a cautious embrace, aware of the precarity of their shared base. The unfinished aspect reinforces the sense that the sculptures are still growing and at the same time already begin to fall apart. This ambiguity is central to the way Leyre Mein relates her work to the deeply rooted emotions, struggles and tensions of life.

2014 - Myofibril Asymptotic - Hydrostone, mesh wire, cloth, metal and found stool- 60 x 66 x 168cm
2021 - Myofibril The kiss/Qubla - Hydrostone, mesh wire, cloth, metal and found stool - 78 x 54 x 198cm
2021 - Myofibril Refraction - Hydrostone, mesh wire, cloth, metal and chair- 63 x 80 x 172 cm
Myofibril The kiss/Qubla and Myofibril Refraction were commissioned by STUK, House for Dance, Image & Sound in the context of Wired for Empathy (2021)
Courtesy of the artist

Alexandra Leyre Mein
°1979, Brussel, België

Alexandra Leyre Mein graduated from the Royal Academy of Antwerp as a fashion designer. In 2008, she made the switchover to visual arts and became a self-taught sculptor. Her works have been exhibited in Palais d'Iéna (FR), White House gallery, Aeroplastics, Maison Particulière, Botanique (BE) and in New York at the Clemente Centre, New House Centre for Contemporary Art and Anton Kern Gallery (USA). Alongside her sculptural practice, Leyre mein continues working with dancers and choreographers. She designed and made sets and costumes in collaboration with renowned contemporary dance choreographers such as Damien Jalet. These creations were shown at the Palazzo Fortuny, the Venice Biennale (IT), the festival d’Avignon and the Louvre (FR). Alexandra Leyre Mein lives and works in Brussels, Belgium and Brooklyn, NY.