The pieces I make stem from a fascination for
creating a strong suggestion of three-dimensionality using minimal and
sometimes even mutually counteractive means. The observer becomes confused;
what is the extent of the illusion? To what extent can the personal perception
be trusted?
The foundations for my current
work were laid in 2004. I made rectangular reliefs in two layers; a uniform
white top layer with cutouts through which a second
layer was visible (Hellend Wit). Due to the three-dimensional
effect of this base layer, the top layer also appeared to split into different
dimensions and the apparently impossible occurred; depth was created, curvature
or, for instance, a horizon in a flat surface.
In the reliefs subsequent to
this, the rectangular border has largely disappeared. The contour now depends
on the form of the depiction. The works now consist only of a single top layer
of poured resin. The base layer is replaced by the white of the wall and the
flat object hangs tight up against this. The white of the underlying wall is
sometimes the foreground and sometimes background, and the form and contra-form
also compete for prime position. This forces the observer to revise his/her
view, as the perception of the work contradicts the observer’s reasoning and
understanding (Frontaal Zwart I).
In the works from the latest
period I examine in more depth, the apparent self-evidence with which the field
of painting deals with the illusion of space. In one piece, part of the outline
is straight, where the edges serve to dissect the depiction. This creates a
suggestion that the space outside of the frame is continued. In the same work,
the rest of the outline is formed by the contour of the depiction. This creates
a game of leverage between the way in which the space is abruptly severed and
the forms, which in contrast enter the space freely (Tag One).
The forms I use in my work are
often derived from geometry, such as a rectangle or hexagon. However, by
rounding them off, rotating them, mirroring them, placing them on top of each
other and repeating them in a fixed pattern (which I also frequently disrupt),
the difference between the geometric and the organic disappears (Gebroken Zwart IV). I
subdivide the depiction into a minimum number of evenly coloured layers that
appear to weave in front of and behind each other. The layers are
complementary, they help make each other visible and simultaneously they
completely flatten one another (Tag One).
My ultimate ambition is to achieve maximum control
over the representation of space without the use of classical components, such
as perspective, sharpness/blur, overlap, shades of colour and incidence of
light.
Occasionally I combine the
flat objects with adhesive plastic film. The plastic
film then functions as a thin line drawing/painting applied directly to the
wall and increases the unity between the work and the wall (Gebroken Zwart III). I have also realized other
works that are made entirely of plastic film,
such as the installation “Ontspoord” on the windows
of an empty space at the Weesperplein subway station
(2009/2010). The point of departure for this work was the refraction of light
in water. Just as a drinking straw in a glass of water appears to suddenly jump
sideways, the transition from one display-window to the next causes a shift in
the position of the depiction. As parts of the depiction also contained
openings through which it was possible to see inside, even the actual space
appeared to be disjointed.
The application of my ideas in
the public domain involves an extra dimension; it also makes passers-by aware
of their environment. A place that one previously walked past without even
noticing now becomes a provocative spot. It is striking how even the untrained
observer finds points of recognition. Cartoonish figures are discovered and
amazement is expressed at the intangibility of the space. The observer is
prompted to undertake a visual game and to find his or her own interpretation
therein.