Id Alony’s wonder world is influenced by a wide range of visual and cultural sources, and dialogues with both Western and non-Western artistic traditions. One clear source of inspiration is the work of the artist James Ensor (1860-1949), a prominent member of the 19th-century Belgian avant-garde. Ensor’s influence on Id Alony can be seen in the large painting portraying masked figures, which is reminiscent of several works by Ensor, including: The Intrigue (1890), The Strange Masks (1892) and Pierrot and Skeleton in a Yellow Robe (1893).

Id Alony is also influenced by the works of the renowned Mexican printmaker José Guadalupe Posada (1852-1913). The skulls, skeletons, and macabre characters that populate Id Alony’s wondrous universe are all inspired by popular Mexican traditions for celebrating the Day of the Dead.

The totemic quality of many of the objects in this installation may also be related to African and Oceanic art. Yet in contrast to traditional sculptures, Id Alony’s works are all ready-mades composed of toy parts, work tools, wooden furniture parts, and even his son’s cloth diapers. Id Alony insists that what interests him is not the invention of objects, but rather their evolution. Accordingly, the historical visual motifs absorbed into his works are transformed into contemporary forms. Each of these components undergoes some sort of mutation before it is incorporated into the sculpture.

These magical sculptures cannot be categorized as belonging to a specific time or place. At the same time, they provide us with the comforting sensation that we have encountered them somewhere in the past.

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