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1981 Presentation Academy of Arts
Arnhem, Kunst academie
In 1981, I completed my final exam at the Arnhem Art Academy, primarily focusing on the project titled ‘Action in Several Instances’. Alongside this project, I also exhibited a selection of paintings, etchings, and screen prints. The title of my project, ‘Action in Several Instances’, alludes to the notion that each situation demands a unique approach. It serves as a reminder that nothing is identical, that each instance is distinct, endlessly repeating, and memories of anything gradually fragment. It was a puzzle I grappled with: how to contend with this fragmentation? I decided to approach this concept by turning it into art, by putting my ideas onto paper, archiving them, and assembling the fragments of memories together. Quite literally, I affixed these experiences, for- ming collages and books. In doing so, I endeavored to capture the multiplicity of actions. An action could encompass various forms: tearing, drawing, thinking, writing, pasting, creating collages, etching, constructing. I aimed to convey that every action could be different each time, contingent upon the situation, necessity, chance, or combinations thereof. The etchings and screen prints I created inherently embraced fragmentation and aligned perfectly with this theme.
I contemplated my history and contemplated the use of photography as a medium to remember and illustrate where I had been. I documented places and locations that seized my attention and that potentially revealed something about my relationship with the city itself. For me, the city symbolized transience and destruction, but also revival and restoration. It was a cyclical pat- tern mirroring our human existence. The city served as a metaphor for human actions, suffering, struggle, and survival. Furthermore, the intricate interplay of forms, materials, bustling activity, solitude, discoveries, and the entanglement of people and ideas within the city pointed to the rapid development and the possibilities of abstract thinking. This enabled us to give abstract forms to imagination, both in art and in society.
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