‘A Rondo with the Printed’ is an installation in which the themes of craftsmanship, touch and motion come together in a ‘dance’ with the visitor.
The installation ‘A Rondo with the Printed’ emerged from the context of a curious scenario: ‘A suspended making process inside a fictional printing workshop, where many hands of printmakers have been at work documenting large, fur coats of superhuman size. They directly apply ink onto the coats’ delicate fur and firmly press each strand down…’
It is an installation that invites visitors to pull these giant prints of fur coats towards themselves and see the details of this peculiar act of documentation from up close.
Fur coats are stored high near the ceiling, each print attached to its own wooden frame, which can move up and down through a pulley system. The emphasis in this installation lies in the interaction between the person and the moving mechanisms. Through your own engagement with the mechanisms in the installation ‘A Rondo with the Printed’, you come face to face with the printed skin of ‘fur’. This act sets a suspended tension within this installation back into motion… all the while, a charged moment unfolds between you and the print as it quietly moves toward you.
What drives me to create this project?
In my work I explore various ways to envelop someone literally and metaphorically with drawn narratives. Japanse sliding doors are an important inspiration. Not only do they adorn their surroundings with painted landscapes, the doors can also be touched and used to repeatedly divide, close or open spaces. A flat, spatial element is therefore able to alter the experience of a space.
During my time at the printing workshop at ArtEZ, the cycles between a momentum and rest stayed with me: printing, studying, storing, cleaning…. These acts and movements, that are naturally part of the rhythm in the workplace, have been the driving force behind the setup of the installation ‘A Rondo with the Printed’.
Anyone one who sets the graphic work in motion, briefly steps into the space between two making processes. It is important that the installation can be set into motion not only by me but also by others. These interactions are valuable for my growth as an artist. The themes of craftsmanship, touch and motion do not end with this installtion, but continue to carry through to the next work.
The Project
The installation ‘A Rondo with the Printed’ emerged from the context of a curious scenario: ‘A suspended making process inside a fictional printing workshop, where many hands of printmakers have been at work documenting large, fur coats of superhuman size. They directly apply ink onto the coats’ delicate fur and firmly press each strand down.’
It is an installation that invites visitors to pull these giant prints of fur coats towards themselves and experience the details of this peculiar act of documentation from up close.
Three fur coats are stored high near the ceiling – each print attached to its own wooden frame, which can move up and down through a pulley system. The emphasis in this installation lies in the interaction between the person and the moving mechanisms. However the work also raises other questions I will explore further below…
Fur coats? Fur prints?
The leitmotiv for this project is the texture of ‘fur’. I have been working for a longer time on expressing the tactility of fur through otherworldly scenes in my drawings. For this work, its texture is going to be translated through various etching techniques. Each etching plate is versatile, meaning that a single plate can print multiple elements of a coat, such as a sleeve, pocket, collar or a different part of the piece. When assembled, each coat becomes a ‘patchwork of etchings’ which from a distance appears as a unified whole. Over time, a worn print within a coat can be ‘patched up’ with another print from the same edition.
A ‘rondo’?
The title of the project is inspired by the ‘dance’ that emerges when the graphic works are set in motion by the visitor through a pulley mechanism. Much like the musical and choreographic form of a ‘rondo’, the artworks move up and down at varying tempos, driven by human interaction/manual labor. Yet, all pieces gradually return to the ‘main theme’ — their original position near the ceiling.
My approach
For the etching process, I am working at the printmaking studio of Productiehuis Plaatsmaken in Arnhem, where I’m learning various etching techniques under professional guidance. I start by practicing on smaller zinc plates, and then move on to the real work: printing on larger plates measuring 40 x 50 cm, 60 x 80 cm, and even 80 x 100 cm.
For the design and construction of the mechanisms that will set these printed works in motion, I’m collaborating with Studio Emit and Minerva Furniture Gallery based in Den Bosch.
The production of this work has been made possible by the generous support of the Heij Konijn Fund in Arnhem and the supporters from the Voordekunst campaign.
