Work samples
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Compass
Compass
sculpture 2023
wood, reflective metal foil, fabric, video, light
276"x 276"w x108″ht.
Compass is a sculpture inspired by the magnetic fields
of the earth. The work considers location of the migratory patterns
of flora and fauna and reflects upon humankinds
navigational direction as it relates to the natural world. -
(dirty~clean)CLEANERS
(dirty~clean)CLEANERS
installation/performance on-going - 2023 pictured here installation only-the view is free to wander in the environment.
collected used dry-cleaning bags, neon sign, neon light, clothing rack, filament, laundry bins
The perfect package fresh from the dry cleaners contains a garment free from dirt, wrinkles and any other signs of human life. Both laundered object and smells are contained – captured – underneath a thin plastic sheen. The installation considers the after-life of human made materials related to domesticity and is activated with performative events. During the performance Sisyphean cleaning clerks endlessly fold, process and roll the ghosts of our laundry. -
Divining the Naiad
Divining the Naiad
Installation 2023
rocks, video, paper, crystal pendulum, sand, velvet drape, 108"h x120"dia.
The viewer is invited to enter and consult an oracle related to their relationship with water and the histories related to water.
Naiads were water spirits of springs and wells in ancient mythology. Considered astral creatures of earth’s water, they were oracles that weighed the balance of mortality and immortality. If these bodies of water were not cherished, and cared for or were made unhappy they could cause pestilence, drought and flooding, they would wreak havoc on the environment. -
Luxury Goods
installation/performance 2023, Post-consumer fur garments, paper, paint, ceramics, animal pelts, audio, intermittant performers. Luxury Goods is an installation activated by performance that explores humans relationshipwith animals. The work reflects upon fur and other commodities related to social status and economic power.
About Laure
Laure Drogoul is a Baltimore based interdisciplinary artist and olfactory spelunker. Laure works with a wide range of media including projects in which she creates sculpture, installations and performances that invite the viewer to be an active participant. She has exhibited and performed internationally and nationally, including The International House of Japan in Tokyo, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington Project for the Arts, Baltimore Museum of Art and The Center for Architecture in New… more
Recent Works 2023-2022
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Luxury Goods
installation/performance 2023. Post-consumer fur garments, paper, paint, ceramics, animal pelts, audio, 2 performers. Luxury Goods is an installation activated by performance that explores humans relationshipwith animals. The work reflects upon fur and other commodities related to social status and economic
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Luxury Goods
Luxury Goods (detail)
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(dirty~clean)CLEANERS (detail of performance during Covid)
(dirty~clean)CLEANERS
installation/performance on-going - 2020 pictured here in Current Gallery storefront with multiple performances on sidewalk during exhibition. Collected used dry-cleaning bags, neon sign, neon light, clothing rack, laundry bin, filament -
(dirty~clean)CLEANERS (performance)
neon,neon light, clothing rack,recycled dry-cleaning bags, laundry bins, intermittent performance(myself and an invited performer)
This installation is in the form of a conceptual dry cleaner shop composed of re purposed polyethylene (the clear plastic used to package garments). The perfect package fresh from the dry cleaners contains a garment free from dirt, wrinkles and any other signs of human life. Both laundered object and smells are contained – captured – underneath a thin plastic sheen. The installation considers the after-life of human made materials related to domesticity and is activated with performative events. During the performance Sisyphean cleaning clerks endlessly fold, process and roll the ghosts of our laundry.
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From our Waist To Waste
Public Art Project 2022. The project includes a installation in a tent of post-consumer garments, decomposition tags, performance and a publication about the history of textiles and and fashion sustainability. The work considers the relationship between glamor and waste.
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From Our Waist to Waste (Is Fashion Sustainable?)From Our Waist to Waste (Is Fashion Sustainable?) 2022 Public Art Project that includes an installation of post consumer clothing, decomposition tags (pictured here) performance and a publication about textile and fashion rubbish, history and sustainability.The work considers the relationship between glamor and waste. As part of the performance the viewers were able to tag their garments to determine the life span of the materials they were wearing-some of which will be lingering for hundreds of years in a landfill.
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From our Waist To Waste
From Our Waist to Waste (detail) A small suitcase of the decomposition tags that I made as a participatory performance for the installation.
Visitors to the installation were invited to consider the materials their clothing was and then identify and pin or tag their clothes that they were wearing.
Then could then tally up the amount of years it would last in the landfill and dump. -
Divining the Naiad
Diving the Naiad 2023
detail of exterior view of entrance in the gallery to the installation. Black drapes slightly open to invite the viewer into the oracle.
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Divining the Naiad
Divining the Naiad Inside the black drape is a small grotto that invites the viewer to view a pool (video) of water with a suspended pendulum above that slowly sways based on the movement of the air vent of the building. The crystal sends flecks of light in the darkened space.
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Compass
Compass
Sculpture, 2023
wood, metallic foil, fabric, video, light
276L x 276W x 108"Ht. (daylight view)
Compass is a sculpture inspired by the magnetic fields
of the earth. The work considers location of the migratory patterns
of flora and fauna and reflects upon humankinds
navigational direction as it relates to the natural world.
Installation/Performance
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Hothouse for the Flora of Our Own Making
Hothouse for the Flora of Our Own Making(or the fruit of our convenience)
Site-specific installation, Maryland 2019
516″ x 120 x 180″
clear polyethylene #4 repurposed plastic, wood, filament and light
The artwork is a spectacle of endless consumption and a reminder of how a material of our own design has become a staple of our environment and is rapidly transforming the natural world. -
Hothouse for the Flora of Our Own Making
Hothouse for the Flora of Our Own Making(or the fruit of our convenience)
Site-specific installation, Maryland 2019
516″ x 120 x 180″
clear polyethylene #4 repurposed plastic, wood, filament and light -
Potty Training for Adults and other Civil DutiesPotty Training for Adults and other Civil Duties performance 2016 adult diapers, tunnel vision spectacles, soap, Q tips, towels School 33 Art Center This performance takes the form of a tour and public announcement. During the performance, the viewer is invited into a public lavatory to receive an instructional tour of the body and it’s functions. During the tour among other activities, the viewers hands are washed, they are read to by a lavatory inhabitant and assistant. The tour begins with a glass of water and the tourists are fitted with tunnel vision goggles. The goggles distort the personal view of the space and focuses awareness on the participants body in the environment.
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Potty Training for Adults and other Civil DutiesPotty Training for Adults and other Civil Duties performance 2016 School 33 Art Center This performance takes the form of a tour and public announcement. During the performance, the viewer is invited into a public lavatory to receive an instructional tour of the body and it’s functions. During the tour among other activities, the viewers hands are washed, they are read to by a lavatory inhabitant and assistant. The tour begins with a glass of water and the tourists are fitted with tunnel vision goggles. The goggles distort the personal view of the space and focuses awareness on the participants body in the environment. Participants are brought into lavatory installation for a tour.
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Teetering X Tottering(On The Brink)Sculpture 2015 wood, water, repurposed water bottles, micro-controllers, sensors, speakers, light Teetering X Tottering(on the brink)—is a kinetic sculpture that invites the viewer to balance up or down creating an experiential awareness of water as a shared resource. The participants movement of the see-saws in this audio work triggers the recorded sounds of the fish common to the Chesapeake Bay, thereby connecting them to the natural world.
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Teetering X Tottering(On The Brink)
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Art Guard (en garde)ART GUARD (en garde) 2014 performance as part of Labbodies Lab Baltimore Museum of Art Performance with recorded tape (audio guide), plaster mask and museum guard uniform. With this performance, I suggested that the guard be considered the art of the museum. Masked and uniformed as a Baltimore Museum of Art guard, I offered lessons in self-defense with a pre-recorded audio guide.
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Art Guard (en garde)ART GUARD (en garde) 2014 performance as part of Labbodies Lab Baltimore Museum of Art Baltimore, Maryland Performance with recorded tape (audio guide), plaster mask and museum guard uniform. With this performance, I suggested that the guard be considered the art of the museum. Masked and uniformed as a Baltimore Museum of Art guard, I offered lessons in self-defense with a pre-recorded audio guide.
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SWAN SONG (After-Life Karaoke)SWAN SONG (After-Life Karaoke) Installation/performance 2013 (on-going) modified 1969 hearse, karaoke machine, speakers, disco ball, light This artwork is a mobile karaoke room in a funeral car. The installation invites the viewer to repose in the back of a hearse and sing a Karaoke song, eulogize or simply listen. SWAN SONG explores issues relating to loss, death and the finite nature of the body....and the world. This project is ongoing and moves to different locations in Baltimore.
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SWAN SONG (After-Life Karaoke)video documentation of SWAN SONG (After-Life Karaoke) Installation/participatory performance 2013 Swan Song is a mobile karaoke room in a Funeral Car. This mobile installation invites the viewer to repose in the back of a hearse and sing a song, eulogize or simply watch and listen. Swan Song explores issues relating to loss, death and the finite nature of the body...and possibly the world.
Installation/Performance 2014-2012
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Going to Seed
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Going To SeedInstallation 2014 Ceramics, light, water micro-greens seeds (arugula, chia, cress, flax). Baltimore Clayworks Project Room Over the course of the project, I created and cultivated with different clay vessel shapes and seeds. The project was site specific to the Gallery's sunroom. The work invites the viewer to care for the small micro-green gardens by misting the sprouting vessels as they grew over a 5 week period and then I invited them to snip and taste the sprouts.
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Going To SeedInstallation 2014 Baltimore Clay Works Ceramics, light, water micro-greens seeds (arugula, chia, cress and flax). Baltimore Clayworks Project Room Over the course of the project, I created and cultivated with different clay vessel shapes and seeds. This installation invited the viewer to care for these mini-gardens by misting the vessels and I invited them to snip and taste the sprouts.
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FatherSky/ShezillaSculpture 2013 10’x8’x13′ (size variable based on ceiling height) wood, paper, fabric, light, sound, mirror
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Father Sky/Shezilladetail
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Pendulum(Oracle)Installation 2014 water, blue light, lens, string, 4 participants 10'H x10'L x10'W EMP Collective, Baltimore, MD In this installation the participant is invited into a room that contains a suspended water filled pendulum and invited to gently manipulate and/or ask questions of the pendulum via 4 attached hanging lines.
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Pendulum(Oracle)Installation 2014 water, blue light, lens, string, participants EMP Collective, Baltimore, MD Detail of pendulum in use. In this installation the participant is invited into a room that contains a suspended water filled pendulum and invited to gently manipulate and/or ask questions of the pendulum via 4 attached hanging lines.
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FauxbowSculpture 2012 Influx Gallery, Baltimore 100 liters of bottled water, repurposed water bottles, light, wood, dye
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FauxbowSculpture 2012 Influx Gallery, Baltimore 100 liters of bottled water, light, wood, dye Detail of cut stacked bottles
Installation/Performance 2012-2008
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Invocation for The Last Full Measure of Devotion (seance for patriots' dreams)Site-specific installation 2008 300 military uniforms, 2 channel video, 18'x15'x8' Arlington Art Center Arlington, VA
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Invocation for The Last Full Measure of Devotion (seance for patriots' dreams)Site-Specific Installation 2008 300 military uniforms, 2 channel video, black velvet, flowers, glitter 18'x15'x8' Arlington Art Center Arlington, VA
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Headform for the Age of Magical ThinkingSculpture 2010 wood, paper, fabric, video, interactive media Suspended 7'x6' diameter (head) Julio Gallery Loyola University
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Headform for the Age of Magical ThinkingSculpture 2010 wood, paper, fabric, video, interactive media,chair Suspended sculplural form 7'x6' diameter (head) Julio Gallery Loyola University The installation explores ideas of mental causation and the role that technology plays in the process. The gallery is dominated by a disembodied head that is offered as a specimen of modern man. The puppet head responds to movement and greets the viewer with a telephonic response.
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Writing DeviceWriting Device Performance 2005 Amplified paper, pen nibs, ink, amplifier In this performance, my fingers are attached to 10 pen nibs. The movement of my hands the nibs and ink on the amplified paper create writing/mark making into sound.
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MiMiMiMi 2 channel video projection 2011 Mimi DiPietro Ice Rink Public Project Parade Director 2011-2013 Great Halloween Lantern Parade Patterson Park, Baltimore MD As the director of the lantern parade I ipresented site specific video projections in the Park - projecting onto the Mimi DiPietro ice rink dome.
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Swan Parade FloatLake floats made from repurposed Baltimore Marathon plastic jugs, paper and bamboo. 10'x8'x7' 2011-2013 Parade Director Great Halloween Lantern Parade,Patterson Park, Baltimore MD As Parade director I designed and facilitated lantern and float workshops from repurposed plastic trash to promote environmental awareness. I fabricated and taught a series of lantern and float workshops. The workshops challenged the community to use existing materials, through collection and re-purposing to create illuminated parade objects for the annual Halloween Lantern Parade . The workshops incorporated traditional lantern making techniques with collected plastic and paper to bring attention to public waste and promote recycling.
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Lantern Parade(Cosmic Park)Lake floats made from repurposed Baltimore Marathon plastic jugs, paper and bamboo. 10'x8'x7' 2011-2013 Parade Director Great Halloween Lantern Parade,Patterson Park, Baltimore MD As Parade director I designed and facilitated lantern and float workshops from repurposed plastic trash to promote environmental awareness. I fabricated and taught a series of lantern and float workshops. The workshops challenged the community to use existing materials, through collection and re-purposing to create illuminated parade objects for the annual Halloween Lantern Parade . The workshops incorporated traditional lantern making techniques with collected plastic and paper to bring attention to public waste and promote recycling.
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Lantern Parade studio
Sculpture/Installation (Rotten Enchantments)
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She Pod of Rotten EnchantmentSculpture 2009 Decker Gallery, MICA, Baltimore, MD Mixed media including interactive video, fabric, wood, photocopy paper, plants and a hammock. 16'x14'x12'ht This sculpture is a architectural folly based on an Anatolian sphinx/fertility figure. The interior is an open space and garden for events to occur and contains a hammock. The eyes are Interactive media/video that respond to the movement of the visitors that enter the interior space.
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She Pod of Rotten EnchantmentSculpture 2009 Decker Gallery, MICA, Baltimore, MD Mixed media including interactive video, fabric, wood, photocopy paper, plants and a hammock. 16'x14'x12'ht This sculpture is a architectural folly based on an Anatolian sphinx/fertility figure. The interior is an open space and garden for events to occur and contains a hammock. The eyes are Interactive media/video that respond to the movement of the visitors that enter the interior space.
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She Pod of Rotten Enchantmentside view (detail) The viewer enters the interior installation through a doorway located on either side of the figure, between the arm and leg. Sculpture 2009 Decker Gallery, MICA, Baltimore, MD Mixed media including interactive video, fabric, wood, photocopy paper, plants and a hammock. 16'x14'x12'ht This sculpture is a architectural folly based on an Anatolian sphinx/fertility figure. The interior is an open space and garden for events to occur and contains a hammock. The eyes are Interactive media/video that respond to the movement of the visitors that enter the interior space.
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She Pod of Rotten Enchantmentdetail of interior space with hammock. Sculpture 2009 Decker Gallery, MICA, Baltimore, MD Mixed media including interactive video, fabric, wood, photocopy paper, plants and a hammock. 16'x14'x12'ht This sculpture is a architectural folly based on an Anatolian sphinx/fertility figure. The interior is an open space and garden for events to occur and contains a hammock. The eyes are Interactive media/video that respond to the movement of the visitors that enter the interior space.
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The Root....(blue-eyed)The Root....(blue-eyed) 2004 Sculpture 2004 Evergreen House, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD Wood, fabric, photocopy paper, light, plantings, seed pods, dried roots with video.15'x10'x10'
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The Root....(blue-eyed)The Root....(blue-eyed) 2004 Sculpture 2004 Evergreen House, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD Wood, fabric, photocopy paper, light, plantings, seed pods, dried roots with video.15'x10'x10'
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The Root....(blue-eyed)back view of the interior garden
Installation/Performance 2008-2005
We have much in common with the earthworm. Worms respond to vibration, such as the patter of rain or the pecking of the birds on the earth. Humans also communicate with vibration, via the vibrating folds of the larynx, and the vibration of sound transmitted through the air.
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Frequencies for Darwin (vermi conversation) 2006Instructional card for performance. In this installation the participant is invited to talk and listen to worms via a sculptural instrument. The worm filled glass jar has been modified with an audio speaker that vibrates when the participant speaks through the microphone. This work is inspired in part by the experiments of Charles Darwin with worms and vibration as discussed in his seminal book "The Formation Of Vegetable Mould, Through The Actions of Worms".
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Frequencies for Darwin (vermi conversation) 20061000 red wigglers, microphones, amplifier, red light. In this installation the participant is invited to talk to worms via a sculptural instrument. The worm filled glass jar has been modified with an audio speaker that vibrates when the participant speaks through the microphone. This work is inspired in part by the experiments of Charles Darwin with worms and vibration as discussed in his seminal book "The Formation Of Vegetable Mould, Through The Actions of Worms".
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Frequencies for Darwin (vermi conversation)(detail of installation) This image shows the modified speaker which amplifies the voice via the microphone and vibrates the jar of worms. Because the worms are light sensitive they are placed in red light to allow the participant to see them respond to the vibrations. We have much in common with the earthworm. Worms respond to vibration, such as the patter of rain or the pecking of the birds on the earth. Humans also communicate with vibration, via the vibrating folds of the larynx, and the vibration of sound transmitted through the air.
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SonicWormWagonConflux Festival of Psychogeography Tompkins Square Park, NYC 2009 modified red wagon, 500 worms, audio 2009
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Symphonic StitchSymphonic Stitch is an interactive installation and performance with projected light and sound. The project invites the visitor to participate as part of a musical knitting circle. The knitter’s needles are equipped with tiny microphones, which amplify the percussive nature of the knitting process, capturing the rhythmic counter point of the participant’s hand movements. The sound generates a projected visual that references the body's physiological system. The installation reveals the synchronicity connected to needlework and creates an environment that is an aural and visual manifestation of the participant’s collective process and a symphonic expression of the craft.Participatory installation and performance knitting needles, yarn, audio equipment, interactive media(MaxMSP), video, modified suitcase
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Symphonic StitchSymphonic Stitch is an interactive installation and performance with projected light and sound. The project invites the visitor to participate as part of a musical knitting circle. The knitter’s needles are equipped with tiny microphones, which amplify the percussive nature of the knitting process, capturing the rhythmic counter point of the participant’s hand movements. The sound generates a projected visual that references the body's physiological system. The installation reveals the synchronicity connected to needlework and creates an environment that is an aural and visual manifestation of the participant’s collective process and a symphonic expression of the craft.Participatory installation and performance knitting needles, yarn, audio equipment, interactive media(MaxMSP), video, modified suitcase
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Apparatus for Orchestral KnittingKnitting Jam at Atomic Pop. Baltimore, MD 2007 Featuring the portable, in a suitcase version of the apparatus.
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Apparatus for Orchestral KnittingMusical Knitting in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia Pa. 2010 This is a mobile street or garden version of the project. A battery powered amplifier allows me to travel to street corners and parks.
Scentorium (olfactory factory)
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ScentoriumThe Scentorium is pictured here installed as part of the Out of Place exhibit at University of Maryland, College Park, MD 2007. The gallery visitor is accessing the on-line survey.
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Scentorium (olfactory factory) 2007A gallery visitor entering survey info to be included in the Global Smell Map.
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Scentorium(olfactory factory)Side view with "prepared" radiators, which include thermodynamic smell specimens.
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Scentorium performanceAs a Smell Hostess, I blindfold a willing participant and various olfactory specimens are placed under their nose. They are asked a series of questions connected to the specimens. I specifically ask them not to try to identify the specimen but to simply respond to the scent and the memory it may evoke.
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Scentorium performanceOn Charles Street, Baltimore Md 2005 as part of the High Zero Festival. My assistant records the response of the participant. Later the responses are read back to the visitor.
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Scentorium performanceAt the Baltimore Farmers Market
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Essence (olfactory factory)2004In Japan, the project took the form of a survey with multiple performances titled Essence (with Mami Takahashi) and culminated with a larger collaborative Scent Salon at the International House in Tokyo. In Japan, the response was tremendous. Pictured here the Essences are visiting the sites directed by the Japanese survey cards.
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Essence (olfactory factory)2004In Japan, the project took the form of a survey with multiple performances titled Essence (with Mami Takahashi) and culminated with a larger collaborative Scent Salon at the International House in Tokyo. In Japan, the response was tremendous. Pictured here the Essences are visiting the sites directed by the Japanese survey cards.
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Olfactory FactorySmell Map page
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Olfactory Factory 2002-ongoingSmell survey card. The survey card and on-line survey is used to collect data and identify potential specimens for the installations. The on-line survey also directly uploads the visitors smell data to the Global Smell Map.
Bozo Prison (for four or more)
Created in 1999 as part of Artscape.
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Bozo Prison(for four or more)Sculpture Baltimore,MD1999 wood,fabric,paper,light,sound,fourperformers
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Bozo Prison (for four or more)Sculpture Baltimore,MD1999 wood,fabric,paper,light,sound,fourperformers
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Bozo Prison (for four or more)Installed at MICA 2009 (with performers)
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Bozo Prison (for four or more)Detail of performer.
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Bozo Prison (for four or more)The structure is comprised of four stacked levels or cells. This image shows three performers.
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Bozo Prison (for four or more)Detail of door and lower cell. (Reception, Diagnostic Classification, Center)
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Bozo Prison (for four or more)Detail of head. The head is constructed of wood, fabric and paper. It lights up at night.
Sculpture (more Rotten Enchantments)
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Dolly
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DollySculpture 1997 8'dia. x 25'ht.(lit at night) wood,fabric,paper,light,sound
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DollyDolly Sculpture 1997 8’dia. x 25’ht. Wood, fabric, paper, light and sound Artscape Festival of the Arts, Baltimore, MD
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SweetieSculpture 1998 Wood,fabric,paper,plexiglass mirror, light, sound
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Sweetie
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SweetieSculpture 1998 Wood,fabric,paper,plexiglass mirror, light, sound
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Tower of Babel/Chance Encounter and alot of blah blah blahTower of Babel/Chance Encounter and alot of blah blah blah Sculpture/Architectural Folly 1993 Wood, fabric, paper, light, sound Artscape Festival for the Arts Baltimore, Maryland
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Tower of Babel/Chance Encounter and alot of blah blah blahTower of Babel/Chance Encounter and alot of blah blah blah Sculpture/Architectural Folly 1993 8'Dia X 30'Ht Wood, fabric, paper, light, sound Artscape Festival for the Arts Baltimore, Maryland
Installation/Performance 1990-1989
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Matriarchical MazeSculpture/Installation Artscape Baltimore, MD 30'x30'x8' wood,paper,fabric, audio, beehive. walk through maze with interior beehive
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Matriarchical MazeSculpture/Installation Artscape Baltimore, MD 30'x30'x8' wood,paper,fabric, audio, beehive. walk through maze with interior beehive
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Matriarchical MazeDetail of papered surface.
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MissConstructPerformance 1990 Cutting a tab of butter with an chain saw PS122
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Workshop of Filthy CreationPerformance 1989 Theatre Project, Baltimore MD Baltimore Museum of Art 1991 the Painted Bride Theatre, Philadelphia 1992 Performance based on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein 6 performers
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Workshop of Filthy CreationDrilling an egg
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Workshop of Filthy CreationPerformance 1989 Theatre Project, Baltimore MD Baltimore Museum of Art 1991 Painted Bride Theatre, Philadelphia 1992 Conceived and Directed Performance based on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
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Fugue Chamber for Amnesiacsdetail of inner chamber The inner chamber where I offer therapy Installation/Performance 15'diameter 1994 School33 Art Center Baltimore, MD
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Fugue Chamber for AmnesiacsDetail of framed inspirational suggestions Installation/Performance 15'diameter 1994 School33 Art Center Baltimore, MD
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Fugue Chamber for AmnesiacsInstallation/Performance 15'diameter 1994 School33 Art Center Baltimore, MD Delaware Museum of Art 1996 (pictured) Washington Project for the Arts