the project: 'Hortus Conclusus'
Latin
hortus - related to Greek chortos, enclosed space
conclusus (adj. derived from v. concludo), enclosing, limiting, including
hortus - related to Greek chortos, enclosed space
conclusus (adj. derived from v. concludo), enclosing, limiting, including
When after a hospital visit I walked past the building Nieuw Rollecate in Deventer, I was struck by the Twenties architecture amidst the overgrown garden. Later I was able to rent a studio in the building. For some time already I was working on the theme of empty space in my work. In my two-dimensional work I was looking for an imbalance in the composition, a tension if you will, by intentionally leaving empty space in a composition. One question that arose was: how could empty space remain empty in a composition, without the blank space becoming a functional element of the composition? This research I connected with the memory of a garden of a rectory in my hometown. Around it was a high fence with sharp points. The trees and bushes that surrounded the garden were grown tall, so that the inside of the garden was obscured to the passer-by. Only now and then, if you were really looking for it, it was possible to catch a glimpse of the court yardgarden. However, this garden was inaccessible to the public. Especially in the imagination this inside got its shine and function in my mind. Later, in Enschede, I regularly came across wastelands that arose from the development of the city. Empty spaces that were inaccessible, fulfilled their function in my perception of space.
For me, that empty and open space in society, in urban planning, and therefore in your mind, is valuable. It is space that must stay clear of a structured and planned filling in. Space that may remain empty, where things may happen and may exist without us physically being there or us planning them to be there.
This positive emptiness was the theme from which the project 'The Secret Garden / Hortus Conclusus departed. There were drawings in which plants are obscured to the eye by shadows of plants. In the language of the drawing shading plays an important role, making surfaces seem to get relief or appear to flow. In recent works on paper the creation of color has become a new element, through the process of layering. I also work on installation pieces in this project. Spatial installations that create space and emptiness on location. Also graphics (including screen printing) and photographic montages play a part in this project.
For me, that empty and open space in society, in urban planning, and therefore in your mind, is valuable. It is space that must stay clear of a structured and planned filling in. Space that may remain empty, where things may happen and may exist without us physically being there or us planning them to be there.
This positive emptiness was the theme from which the project 'The Secret Garden / Hortus Conclusus departed. There were drawings in which plants are obscured to the eye by shadows of plants. In the language of the drawing shading plays an important role, making surfaces seem to get relief or appear to flow. In recent works on paper the creation of color has become a new element, through the process of layering. I also work on installation pieces in this project. Spatial installations that create space and emptiness on location. Also graphics (including screen printing) and photographic montages play a part in this project.