That stunning work is titled “Rest In Peace”. It is a life-sized, Baroque-inspired gown… made of PAPER. I know. It’s too much to wrap your head around, which exactly why I knew I had to have it’s creator on the podcast. Haitian born, New York based artist Fabiola Jean-Louis answered alllllll of my questions on today’s episode. So. Many. Questions. In between explaining the ‘how’ and ‘why’ behind her exquisite work, I also found out that she graduated from the same high school as Basquiat, was almost a doctor, and is a mother of five. Yep. You can listen right up there under “Rest in Peace”, or subscribe on Apple Podcasts and/or Spotify {and, you know, feel free to leave a lovely review while you’re there!}

First, since I don’t have images from her pre-med days, I’ll go as far back as her Polaroids… which by the way are MAGIC:

Self. Taught. Polaroids {and Photoshop} were how she got her instant gratification, but somewhere along the way her photographs got, well, much less instant! Here are just some of the pieces from “Rewriting History”. Brace yourself, because the level of detail is insane:

Gasp! Paper dresses, dollhouses, props and  yes, those lovely paper shoes! The final composition above is “Marie Antoinette is Dead”, the piece Fabiola talked about regarding the first pair of paper shoes she ever made… see them poking out from under that gorgeous blue paper dress? So much work for the tiniest little glimpse {that’s why I’ve included them on their own as well… they need their moment in the spotlight!}

Alright, and here are the paper gowns from “Rewriting History” when they’re displayed on their own:

I mean, come on. STUN. NING.

Ooh, and some of her latest work… the altar/shrine!

Look at that detail! When her father said “the magic is in the details”, Fabiola was obviously really listening.

And finally, a photo of this artist / rewriter of history / mother of five… plus, a quick “day in the life” video she posted not too long ago:

 

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Sigh. So beautiful. All of it. Also, I want to squeeze her ridiculously cute baby! Thank you so much to Fabiola for taking time out of her busy life to be on the podcast, and thank YOU for listening. Stay tuned on info about the podcast network I’m joining {with Andy J. Pizza}, and for details about joining my new club: “The NO SUCH THING AS TOO MUCH ART Society”… it’s gonna be good! ~ Danielle xo

Other links:

1. Fabiola on Instagram
2. High School of Fashion Industries
3. Isabella Gardner Museum, Boston
4. “Black Art : In the Absence of Light” {we talked about this new documentary after we stopped recording, but we both love it and think you should go watch it! It’s on HBOMax}