Univocally, 2012

The first out of seven...

http://gerb95.ru/

Dichtbij.nl

Taken from a billboard in Russia, where neither word nor letter looked familiar, this striking but unidentifiable logo of a company seems to bear a universal language. The action portrayed by the stylized hands seems as though its promoting a symbolic but ambiguous gesture from a maker to a receiver. The receiver present in the logo seems to gladly acknowledge the wholehearted gesture. The viewer on the other hand, invited to witness this transaction, remains uncertain of its significance. I liberated this image from it's original context and delivered it to the dutch website www.dichtbij.nl [English: 'nearby'] a website directing its visitors to local news and advertisements by use of their given postal codes. The website agreed to place this logo for a short amount of time on every page regardless of the visitors present location. Exploring the notion of empathy between a sender vs. receiver and a local vs. universal context.

Univocally, 2012

The presentation Univocally is an investigation into the ethics of cooperation and a reflection on contemporary crafts. Finally not ambiguous and multi-interpretable title. Since my first solo exhibition (SOLO: the maker ain't so lonely as before, 2010) I have aimed to produce work conducted by others. Driven by the theme of loneliness, I have invited craftsmen to make work attributed to an insecure and unfamiliar situation. The voice of the craftsman which has become known as merely executive, is asked to reassert itselves in the arts and towards the viewer. The open dialogue between artist and maker produces an unpredictable voice that appeals to the public even though it might not be fully understood. As a result of an intimate collaboration in which I restored an old mould for a porcelain producer in Krasnodar, Russia a series of seven (of which six hand painted) bells are created. 'Univocally' expresses their understanding of the production process, where all employees are required to look in the same direction in order to deliver a successful product. Indicating my desire as an artist to enter into an existing production, we speak from one mouth and explore the form and sound of a bell. As a result, various voices inside and outside the arts together create a single presentation. A sound for those who like to relate to art but are uncertain about their contribution.

More Soon...

Sculpture workshop, Krasnodar

As part of my residency in Krasnodar, I was invited to give a lecture and sculpture workshop at the University's art faculty. The lecture and workshop was about stones, inspired by my recent project 'When you sell the stuff you're fixing' presented at the Zoldermuseum, Lawrence Weiner, Jasper Coppes' work about the art of looking at stones and the wall drawings at Gorjachi Kluch.

Starting of the workshop, I asked the students to bring a single object, which formed the starting point for their stone sculptures and would finally buried inside. One girl listened to her Ipod inside, while another lost her silver ring. The students will be working towards their first public exhibition.

Vernacular Sculpture, 2011

Title: Height, Date of original production: 1960

Title: Girl sculpts a dove, Date of original production: unknown

Title: golden ass, Date of original production: 1964


During my residency in Krasnodar, Russia I got in contact with a small porcelain sculpture facility in the area. In difficult economical times the large porcelain sculpture factory 'Чайка' was forced to close. Well known for their objects for domestic use. Depicting leisuring workers, mothers and known stories. These guys got their hands on some of the old moulds left outside the factory. We agreed on a collaboration, in which they allowed me produce a new sculpture based on one of these master molds.

More Soon!

How sculpture can support us? / Slideshow

Evening Talk – How sculpture can support us? 03/07

Setting foot in florence for a field trip, which I planned to make a leather apron I got lost in a city people call Florence. Not truly lost, since as an artist I trained myself to do so and educated myself with a odd sense of orientation. One that at least keeps me occupied. And I remembered a phrase my mother uttered when she lost something in the house. Sint Antonius goede vrind maak dat ik mijn schoen weer vindt. Or: St Anthony my old friend, make my find my shoes again. For every single thing she lost, she'd call this divine providence to aid her in her search. I made myself to look for him, since I was suspicious of his strength. Every time I lost myself I would look for the presence of his image which was plentiful in the city and once I found him, I took a picture. Anthony I've been told, is the guardian of lost objects and I don't think lost souls.

Anthony comes in many forms. But in most cases I found him he looked away from us. Not the kind of looking away like the great heroins of the past, nor a gaze of humility or desperation But of a strange and almost amorphous kind. That is how I recognized him. Looking out for someone who, when I found him turned his look down, but his eyes up. A little autistic looking, asking for compassion with his situation but refusing to give a lot of insight in what that situation may be. With this strange unwanted unreachability he became the patron of (I read) many things, the poor, the baker, the traveller, the wedded and the feverish. And another thing I found was that he was always holding something. Unlike like many other sculptures which object they'd be holding signified their function, status or predicament. Anthony was always holding something else, making him much harder to identify. Sometimes it was baby jesus, sometimes a pendant, sometimes a plant and it was as though for everything he's holding, he's holding something back as well. This is how, I believe he quickly became the patron of lost things. [...]

Evening talk 03/07: How sculpture can support us?

"Christian van der Kaap will give an evening talk on the 3rd of July 2011 from 9-10 PM in the Zolder Museum. For reservations please contact zoldermuseum@gmail.com"

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