the work 'exclude include'
The word-image of these two terms has a symmetry that also works semanticly. The term 'exclude' comes from the Latin 'excludere', wich means to 'keep out', or: to 'shut out'. The Latin-word 'claudere' has the meaning of to 'shut' and to 'protect'. A space is shielded: a jar is closed with a lid; a door closes in a building; a gate closes of a garden.
In a metaphorical sense the terms 'include' and 'exclude' are about things like: societies, groups and individuals. In particular, with individuals, we can empathize with being protective, which may also be shielding: Being a closed person. This person is closed because he or she is vulnerable, or because he or she has something to hide. The terms 'exclude' and 'include' are therefore relational terms: something or someone shields it- or himself of to anything or anyone else.
The terms also refer to the classification or organisation of space, literally or metaphorically. There is a distinction made between the 'inside' and the 'outside'. The inside and the outside of including or excluding give things their place: an organization in space. One thing belongs inside, the other thing belongs outside. And also: one person belongs inside and the other one outside.
Finally, to include or to exclude has a connotation of possession or belonging. What is mine belongs with me, and I put in here; what is not mine, does not belong with me, and I put out there. Holding on and casting out is related to this. These terms make the concept of in- or excluding active. There is a degree of aggression in holding on and rejection that gives these terms a new dimension.
For this work I have sided these two terms to bring out the ambiguity of in- or excluding. Maybe I should even say: to expose the paradoxical that lies within the concept of in- or excluding. I make the opposite effects of 'ex' and 'in' conscious and explicit by placing them side by side.
By placing these concepts on a double frontdoor of a building, I connect the semantics with the aesthetics: one starts to "see" the door in a different light. The opening and closing of the door, going through it - from outside to inside, or vice versa - will become a physical experience of including and excluding (or vice versa). I think this experience can be meaningful and hope it makes you think about a series of interconnected questions, like: "Do I belong in here?'; Who belongs in here and why?'; "Who or what do I close out and does not belong to my inner circle?"; "How do we, as the 'we' of the 'inside', look towards the 'them' of the 'outside'?"; "Do I open the door to the 'outside' easily, or do I open it ajar: cautiously, or even: anxiously?; "Is there within the inside only one inside, or are in here several insides and outsides on the inside? '; Etcetera. Many questions of organization, classification and the related perceptions and attitudes.
I find it interesting how the meanings of this work can change subtilly when placed on different buildings. Think of what happens when this work would be installed on a bank; a museum; a church; a townhall; or a (big) home (with a double frontdoor). The meanings subtly shift and are relevant in a new way in these different contexts.
The lettersize and -type are set in the work. The manner of placing I've left more open, although I am aware of the differences in the aesthetic experience in the various modes of placing. This openness of ways of placing I made deliberately, so that the work can have its effect in many different situations. After all, there are glass doors; there are rotating doors, but also swinging doors; There are many types of doors; and the work can be installed both permanently and more temporarily.
In a metaphorical sense the terms 'include' and 'exclude' are about things like: societies, groups and individuals. In particular, with individuals, we can empathize with being protective, which may also be shielding: Being a closed person. This person is closed because he or she is vulnerable, or because he or she has something to hide. The terms 'exclude' and 'include' are therefore relational terms: something or someone shields it- or himself of to anything or anyone else.
The terms also refer to the classification or organisation of space, literally or metaphorically. There is a distinction made between the 'inside' and the 'outside'. The inside and the outside of including or excluding give things their place: an organization in space. One thing belongs inside, the other thing belongs outside. And also: one person belongs inside and the other one outside.
Finally, to include or to exclude has a connotation of possession or belonging. What is mine belongs with me, and I put in here; what is not mine, does not belong with me, and I put out there. Holding on and casting out is related to this. These terms make the concept of in- or excluding active. There is a degree of aggression in holding on and rejection that gives these terms a new dimension.
For this work I have sided these two terms to bring out the ambiguity of in- or excluding. Maybe I should even say: to expose the paradoxical that lies within the concept of in- or excluding. I make the opposite effects of 'ex' and 'in' conscious and explicit by placing them side by side.
By placing these concepts on a double frontdoor of a building, I connect the semantics with the aesthetics: one starts to "see" the door in a different light. The opening and closing of the door, going through it - from outside to inside, or vice versa - will become a physical experience of including and excluding (or vice versa). I think this experience can be meaningful and hope it makes you think about a series of interconnected questions, like: "Do I belong in here?'; Who belongs in here and why?'; "Who or what do I close out and does not belong to my inner circle?"; "How do we, as the 'we' of the 'inside', look towards the 'them' of the 'outside'?"; "Do I open the door to the 'outside' easily, or do I open it ajar: cautiously, or even: anxiously?; "Is there within the inside only one inside, or are in here several insides and outsides on the inside? '; Etcetera. Many questions of organization, classification and the related perceptions and attitudes.
I find it interesting how the meanings of this work can change subtilly when placed on different buildings. Think of what happens when this work would be installed on a bank; a museum; a church; a townhall; or a (big) home (with a double frontdoor). The meanings subtly shift and are relevant in a new way in these different contexts.
The lettersize and -type are set in the work. The manner of placing I've left more open, although I am aware of the differences in the aesthetic experience in the various modes of placing. This openness of ways of placing I made deliberately, so that the work can have its effect in many different situations. After all, there are glass doors; there are rotating doors, but also swinging doors; There are many types of doors; and the work can be installed both permanently and more temporarily.