2015 Bas-relief in salvaged wood #107, 168 x 168 x 14cm. Private collection, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Europa is one of the moons of Jupiter and it was discovered in 1610 by Galileo Galilei. It is slightly smaller than the Moon, and has a water-ice crust striated by cracks and streaks. It has the smoothest surface of any known solid object in the Solar System which led to the hypothesis that a water ocean exists beneath it, which could conceivably serve as an abode for extra-terrestrial life – a prospect that has made Europa a candidate for a future visit by probe. (source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europa_(moon))
All the works that were part of the Bare Bones exhibition at Ron Mandos Gallery in Amsterdam in 2016.
2014 Bas-relief in salvaged wood #102, engraved 310 x 105 x 16 cm. Private collection, Berlin, Germany.
Black Ark fuses worlds that are far apart. The shape of the work is based on a boulder from the D20 ‘hunebed’ (dolmen) in Drenthe, NL. The wood covering Black Ark has black paint over a green base. It is engraved with copies of contemporary shamanic drawings by Lee Perry at his Black Ark studio in Jamaica. (source for the Lee Perry drawings: afflictedyard.com/scratchark)
All the works that were part of the Bare Bones exhibition at Ron Mandos Gallery in Amsterdam in 2016.
2014 Bas-relief in salvaged wood #100, 152 x 154 x 16cm. Private collection, Osaka, Japan.
Veneer theory is a term coined by Dutch primatologist Frans de Waal to designate a certain view of human morality which he criticizes in his book ‘Primates and Philosophers: How Morality Evolved’. De Waal rejects the idea that human morality is ‘a cultural overlay, a thin veneer hiding an otherwise selfish and brutish nature’. He instead sees our morality as a direct outgrowth of the social instincts that human beings share with other animals. (source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Veneer_theory)
Made for the The factory Set retrospective at the Kunsthal in Rotterdam 2014/15. A total of 37 bas reliefs were shown. Most of them on loan.
2013 Bas-relief in salvaged wood #92, 191 x 170 x 15cm. Private collection, Madrid, Spain.
Crystals of common salt (also known as rock salt, halite or sodium chloride) are cuboid in shape. In other words they are made up of rectangular slabs with right-angled corners. The shape arises because, at a molecular level, the sodium and chlorine ions are spaced on a regular cubic grid or ‘lattice’. The crystals belong to the cubic system (one of 7 main crystal systems), and more specifically to a symmetry class identified by the international symbol Fm3m (one of over 200 possible space groups). (source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Cubic_crystal_system)
Part of the Phasmid exhibition in 2012 at Ambach & Rice gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA:
2012 Bas-relief in salvaged wood #90, 79 x 85 x 10cm. Private collection, Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
Fire and Brimstone is an idiomatic expression of signs of God’s wrath in the Bible. It can also refer to a style of Christian preaching that uses vivid descriptions of judgment and eternal damnation to encourage repentance. Brimstone is another name for sulphur. (source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_and_brimstone)
The volcano and the sulfur crystal were made for the Ambach & Rice presentation at NADA art fair, Miami Beach, FL, USA in 2012.
2012 Bas-relief in salvaged wood #87, 229 x 152 x 12cm. Private collection, Lee Bay, United Kingdom.
The Volcano relief is based on an illustration of the workings of a volcano taken from the book ‘Moses and Geology’. The book, published in 1883, was an attempt to explain the physical workings of our planet in the light of the Bible and so to counter the great advances in science that had been made earlier that century.
Excerpt from MOSES AND GEOLOGY: Or The Harmony Of The Bible With Sience by Samual Kinns
… ‘In the month of June, 1759, the cultivators of the farm began to be disturbed by strange subterranean noises of an alarming kind, accompanied by frequent shocks of earthquake, which continued for nearly a couple of months; but they afterwards entirely ceased, so that the inhabitants of the place were lulled into security. On the night between the 28th and 29th of September, however, the subterranean noises were renewed with greater loudness than before, and the ground shook awfully. The Indian servants living on the place started from their beds in terror, and fled to the neighbouring mountains. Thence gazing upon their master’s farm, they beheld it, along with a tract of ground measuring between three and four square miles, raised up, as if it had been inflated from beneath like a bladder. At the edges this tract was uplifted about thirty-nine feet above the original surface, but so great was its convexity that towards the middle it attained a height of no less than 524 feet.
The Indians who beheld this strange phenomenon declared that they saw flames issuing from several parts of this elevated tract, and that the entire surface became agitated like a stormy sea. Great clouds of ashes, illuminated by volcanic fires glowing beneath them, rose at several points, and white-hot stones were thrown to an immense height. Vast chasms at the same time opened in the ground, and into these the two small rivers above mentioned plunged. Their waters, instead of extinguishing the subterranean conflagration, appeared only to add to its intensity. Quantities of mud enveloping balls of basalt were now thrown up, and the surface of the elevated ground became studded with small cones, from which volumes of dense vapour, chiefly steam, were emitted, some of the jets rising from twenty to thirty feet in height. These cones the Indians called ovens, and in many of them is heard even now a subterranean noise resembling that of water briskly boiling. Out of a great chasm in the midst of these ovens there were thrown up six larger elevations, the highest being 1,600 feet above the level of the plain, and now constituting the principal volcano of Jorullo, which has a regular volcanic crater, whence have been thrown up great quantities of stones and lava containing fragments of older rocks. The ashes emitted from the volcano were thrown to an immense distance, some of them having fallen on the houses at Queretaro, 150 miles from Jorullo.
How privileged were the men who saw one of these upheavals of the Earth’s crust! And though but a small matter compared with the rising of mountain-chains, yet it must have been strikingly grand to see a mountain springing up from the level ground, with all the attendant phenomena; and if they were believers in Revelation, how it must have convinced them of the truthfulness of the Biblical story, and the great power of the Creator in ordaining laws which should bring about similar results to those related by Moses!’ … (from: Moses and Geology, page 98)
The volcano and the sulfur crystal were made for the Ambach & Rice presentation at NADA art fair, Miami Beach, FL, USA in 2012.
2012 Bas-relief in salvaged wood #84, 120 x 245 x 12cm. Private collection, Moscow, Russian Federation.
Yoshiwara was a famous yūkaku (pleasure district) in Edo, the precursor of present-day Tokyo, Japan. To confine and regulate prostitution in Japan in the early 17th century, it was restricted to designated city districts in Kyoto, Osaka and Edo in an attempt by the Tokugawa shogunate to prevent the nouveau riche chōnin (townsmen) from engaging in political intrigue. The Yoshiwara was created in the city of Edo in 1617, near what is today known as Nihonbashi. In 1656, due to the need for space as the city grew, the government decided to relocate Yoshiwara and plans were made to move the district to its present location north of Asakusa on the outskirts of the city.
The Yoshiwara was home to some 1,750 to 3,000 women during the 18th century. The area had over 9,000 women in 1893, many of whom suffered from syphilis. Girls were typically sent there by their parents between the ages of seven to twelve. When a girl was old enough and had completed her apprenticeship, she would become a courtesan and work her way up the ranks. Social classes were not strictly divided in Yoshiwara. A commoner with enough money would be served as an equal to a samurai. Yoshiwara became a strong commercial area. The fashions in the town changed frequently, creating a great demand for merchants and artisans. Traditionally the prostitutes were supposed to wear only simple blue robes, but this was rarely enforced. The high-ranking ladies often dressed in the highest fashion of the time, with brightly colored silk kimonos and expensive, elaborate hair decorations. Fashion was so important in Yoshiwara that it frequently dictated the fashion trends for the rest of Japan. Yoshiwara remained in business until prostitution was made illegal in 1958. (source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshiwara)
Part of the Edge of Space exhibition in 2012 at Ron Mandos gallery, Amsterdam.
2009 Bas-relief in salvaged wood #62, 165 x 95 x 11cm. Private collection Bethesda, Maryland, United States.
Photograph of a diamond mine laborer placing explosive charges. Copyright Uniepers. Image taken from the book ‘Vier Eeuwen Diamant’ (1986). The image was applied to the back of the Taylor/Burton
Taylor/Burton
The rough diamond, weighing 241 carats (48.2 g), was found in 1966 in the Premier Mine in South Africa and was cut by Harry Winston to 69.42 carats in a pear shape. It was bought in 1969 by Richard Burton and Liz Taylor for over a million dollars, creating great publicity. Burton and Taylor were top movie stars in those days and arguably the most famous couple in the world. Sale of the diamond conferred naming rights and they accordingly named it the Taylor- Burton Diamond. After their divorce in 1974, Taylor auctioned the diamond for $5 million. Its current owner is Robert Mouawad, a Lebanese diamond dealer and owner of many famous gems. (source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Taylor-Burton_Diamond)
Hand of Harry Winston filled with precious stones.
‘In this photo, Harry Winston holds some of his famous gems in the palm of his hand. The 125.35 carat emerald-cut Jonker diamond is center. Just under the Jonker is the 94.80 carat pear shaped Star of the East diamond. The 45.52 carat blue Hope diamond rests between his index and middle nger. The 337.10 carat Sapphire of Catherine the Great is next to his thumb, and the 70.21 carat Idol’s Eye diamond is just above the Jonker. A matched pair of pear shaped diamonds and a larger ruby are also shown.’ In his day Harry Winston (1896 -1978) was possibly the most famous jeweler in the world. His name is immortalized in Marily Monroe’s 1953 film version of the song Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend: ‘Talk to me, Harry Winston, tell me all about it!’ (source: harrywinston.com; wikipedia.org/wiki/ Harry_Winston)
Part of the Shallow Wade exhibition in 2010 at OkOk gallery, in Seattle, WA, USA.
