Brooch Sculpture by Matthieu Cheminée
A brooch on a base that allows both the found-metal front with 10k gold and a Kazakhstan turquoise to be seen and also the stamped back. The sculpture measures 4”wide by 5” high.
Creativity is the result, the fruit of inspiration. It is born from our surroundings, our
experiences, from the people we meet and the places we visit. It is everywhere
around us.
"Squeezed to the last drop" is an homage to refugees around the world.
When no vision of a possible future exists in the place you always called home, when
there is no more hope and you are forced to leave in the attempt of a better life for
you and your loved ones, no matter the price or the danger even if the cost is your
life.
The brooch is made from an old empty tube (cream or toothpaste) found on a dirt
road leading to a fisherman village in Ngaparou, Senegal in West Africa.
Often, fishing boats made to carry only a few fishermen are filled with up to a
hundred refugees leaving in the hopes of reaching Spain's Canary Islands, a door to
Europe. Just a week ago a boat like this sunk four miles from Ngaparou, killing atleast
26 people.
Leaving your country for the unknown isn't an easy decision but when there is no
longer hope of a safe and secure life, this leaves you no choice and getting out feels
like the only way. In Ngaparou, fishermen leave because they are having hard time
catching fish, to eat and to support there families. The reason is commercial fishing
from Chinese and European fishing factories which come in and wipe out the local
fish populations.
I once took a similar boat nine miles off the coast with fishermen and I cannot begin
to imagine how hard and frightening it must be to be on one with a hundred or so
people for days.