This sculpture is an extract from the imaginary landscape where the artist has been working on for many years, and is reflected in a work map. This map has become a true navigation system where multiple zones are interconnected by the Xyrtox Liquid, a meandering river. An interpretation would be a dried bed of the river in which the observer can wander with his eyes. Due to the literaly delicate balance it is not advisable to touch this work; not only would the observer damage the fragile materials, but when tilting the sculpture the last appearance of this fragile piece of nature would be destroyed. Recovery is impossible.
About the artwork
About the artist
Hendrik Vermeulen, ° 1965, Roeselare, Belgium
Lives and works in Ghent, Belgium - www.hendrikvermeulen.be
Education:
2000-2001: Mixed Media & Scenography, Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Antwerp, Belgium
1994-1995: 3D, Hogeschool Sint-Lukas, Brussels, Belgium
1985-1989: Monumental Art, Hogeschool Sint-Lukas, Ghent, Belgium
"For many years, the landscape is the bearer of all my images, because it offers opportunities that are more universal to me than when portraying humans. Nevertheless, the specific relationship between man and the landscape is an important joint for my work and thinking. This relationship reminds me of contradictions in the form of traces that man has left during the last decades in nature. Both for their visual aspects and their content, I consider these contradictions to be richer source material than the idyllic landscape. Indeed, in the current landscape I see a very delicate balance between power and powerlessness, between ingenuity and laziness, between indifference and absurdity. These poles make me dizzy at times of unbelief, and give me a great incentive to create."
- Hendrik Vermeulen