Enclosure(s)
Enclosure(s) is a series of paintings, or “photographic sculptures”, consisting of mainly plaster and cyanotype. The plaster absorbs the cyanotype, which in turn reacts to ultraviolet light. Because of this the works undergo a quite dramatic transformation in their first weeks, depending on the humidity and the amount of lux. They develop slowly like a polaroid picture and are as three-dimensional as a sculpture.
The series, or at least my influence on the shapes that appeared, is inspired by the (agriculturally) manufactured landscape of the Netherlands and all its waterways – our framing of nature and the never-ending, increasingly urgent, management of bodies of water. How to maintain control over something so fluid? Could it be less restrictive?
In my practice I am always looking to collaborate with the material itself as well as the passing of time – how duration influences the work. This is definitely the case for Enclosure(s), in which the imagery came about organically and is thus not completely decided upon. It requires embracing the not-knowing, creating a kind of arrangement that allows things to happen.
Although the series is fully analogue and created by hand, it also evokes an association with digital surfaces. This might be due to the deepness of the blue, also reminiscent of the blue screen of death, or the interplay of rectangular shapes. Naturally these shades of blue also relate to – how we perceive – the colour of the sky, the work of Yves Klein, lapis lazuli, and the ancient technology of blueprints.
This series has been exhibited at Gallery Intussen during a show called Unearth created together with Michele Bazzoli, Laura Malpique & Vince Donders.
2023 – 2024
Estuary (2023) 40 x 30
System (2023) 40 x 30
Window (2024) 30 x 20
POV (2023) 30 x 30
Window (2024) 30 x 20
Source (2024) 40 x 30
Window (2024) 30 x 20
Cloud (2024) 60 x 40