To explain what art is about then you immediately fall short at the very first sentence. That's the same as that boy who was asked for his final Dutch exam What is guts? This is guts... and handed in his essay with this one sentence. The more you write about art the more you find out that assumptions are being made. Did the artist really mean it. Is it art at all? When is someone an artist. When he can do something really well or just when he is able to let go of his circumscribed maturity. Having watched art for more than 30 years, I can say that I have seen some pass. The sculptures I made in the past year appeared out of nowhere. One moment the metal was still in sheets on the ground and the next it was standing straight up. A strange experience as if the sculptures were there before I made them.
After a few works, a sudden fear arose that I would lose the power but I had to spend some time discovering why I was going to make these sculptures and where they came from. Meanwhile, I know what these works are about, where they come from and can generate new works. The fear is gone. When a painter finds a brush he likes so I found my welder that felt like a fit. By merging Western and Eastern influences, these sculptures emerged in my mind. They seem like images from the past but also from a distant future, images that have yet to tell us anything. I prefer to place them in a tranquil space or large expanse of sand where you come across an sculpture like this and wonder what it is. If it is a utilitarian object, what is it used for? And why the circles? When the ninth sculpture suddenly appeared, the circles caught my eye. Why do those circles keep appearing besides the fact that they are visually very attractive to me? Why did I suddenly make these works? Sometimes you are looking for something that gives you strength. You are introverted and want to hold on to that but also want to share that serenity. You want to be open but also come across as strong. You want to be sweet but also tough. You want to send but also receive. You want to return to something primitive but at the same time be able to receive futuristically. You want to share and transmit your knowledge and expertise.
On the frequency on which I made the sculptures, I try to hold it and offer protection and share it with those who can perceive it. To hold this frequency, these circles were created. You receive something that you can hold on to for as long as you want. We like to hold on to traditions and beliefs and look for symbols for them. Just as every tribe had its own totem pole and the whole village danced around it so we in the West built churches to go to. A tooth of Buddha is kept and we walk circles around it. Do we chant and make mantras to protect ourselves. We cling to pieces of metal or stone and add to them. I feel the same way with my sculptures. I am in there along with the energy I put into it. You can feel it whenever you want. I also talk to art, stroke it and give it love. Then it comes full circle.
That's what I want to give and try to convey that. When you tune into the right frequency then you can feel it. Art should tell something, of course, but it should also raise questions. A good work of art intrigues and captivates every time you see it. A relationship develops and it becomes dear to you. Just as an artist often says they are his children and a collector cherishes and cares for his artworks. But important to me is the wonder it evokes and very sometimes stimulates the imagination. By simply putting together various materials, an object is suddenly created that you can enjoy. That evokes feelings, acquires its own identity and emanates an energy that lasts. The object is born.
