René Serrano Rodriguez Blog

Villers-La-Ville  Villers-la-Ville is an abbey constructed in 1146 in the Walloon region of Belgium. Abandoned in 1796, this former abbey of Cistercian monks has served as the backdrop for various events and has become a tourist attraction in the Belgian kingdom since then. (Yes, it is the setting you observed in the Sense8 series.) Notably, Victor Hugo visited it three times! I had the opportunity to explore this abbey in 2002 and returned later to make some sketches of the tombstones that were present. As a devoted enthusiast of the Romanesque and Gothic periods, I couldn't pass up the chance to observe them on the ground. (Certainly, I did not take anything, and the sketches I made did not impact the surface of the tombstones.) I created the following series with the concept of envisioning a meeting between two beings who traverse a segment of a journey within a series of routes, only to eventually diverge onto different and unique paths. The photographs presented here were cap

I have always felt a strong attraction to African art. Interestingly, I haven't been there, know little about it, and it hasn't been a priority or a dream for an upcoming trip. However, getting to know its art through museums captivates me. I am fortunate to have acquired some pieces throughout my life, and one of them is this "Notarial Act." The piece was purchased during a visit to the "Passé Composé" store in 2014, hosted by my friends Thierry Delannoy and Sylvie Deleersynder in Tournai, Belgium. This piece of wood, approximately 23 x 6 cm, bears illegible calligraphy, at least for me, arranged on the front. Part of what could be an "official seal" of some local authority with a red pigment can be discerned. These types of Acts date back to the 12th to late 18th century in the northern region of Africa. During this period, official documents such as notarial acts, marriage certificates, and "deeds" for homes were often recorded on p