DEAR VISITOR!

Welcome to the Laureate-exhibition of the Internationale Grote Prijs Kalligrafie of Westerlo 2022. For your orientation, I’d like to shed some light on the presented works here in the foyer and the corridor.

Apart from the first work directly left from the entrance („one view on nine circles“), all the other works are part of an ongoing, long term artistic research, started around 2019. My overall aim is to explore the intriguing interconnection of geometric structures & calligraphy. Both are deeply connected in manifold ways and many cultures around the world have their own acquaintance with this interconnection. Reflections about historic writing styles and traditional art forms such as Islamic geometric art merge with my passion for the mathematical principles behind and the visual potentials of mesmerizing visual rhythms.
Before getting specific, let me offer to you an overall metaphor for what you’re looking at: These works are like maps of a distinct infinity. They are mathematical relations turned into visual landscapes. These landscapes are abstract, but they capture something lively in a way. Something that enables growth, harmonically organized by its own rules. Rather than using calligraphy to interpret authors, I use it to enhance the power behind the geometric shapes: number & proportion.

I often get asked if I depict animals and mythical creatures on purpose. Yes and no. Like the children's game of seeing pictures in clouds, creature-likenesses appear via a phenomenon called pareidolia - our natural inclination as human beings, to see signs of life in abstract pattern. By shaping silhouettes and contrasts, I indirectly imply certain morphologies & postures.

But now to the series in specific.

All works of  A M N E S I A T O M I C A  are based something called tessellation. A tessellation is a limited set of geometric shapes, that can be used to cover a plane without gaps or overlaps. They are common in our everyday life. You can find them everywhere, f. ex. here on the floor of this foyer. Some of these tessellations are quite complex. While some work through regular repetition, others never repeat exactly in the same way. And that’s the kind of tessellations used here: The ones you cannot find anywhere, or at least get to see rarely. Tessellations are of mathematical and artistic interest. From an artistic point of view, one could see them as frozen movement. Movement that can be enhanced calligraphically. The title is composed freely by merging „amnesia“ (confusion) & „anatomy“. Like all other titles, it’s a neologism that on purpose sounds like a strange ancient language, while in fact it’s meant as a game with associations and symmetries in the positioning of the letters.

S H O D O U R O B O R O S  is a hint to the japanese word for calligraphy „shodo“ (the path of writing) and the mythological figure of the „ouroboros“ (a dragon or snake biting its own tail). The referenced tradition of japanese enso-calligraphy (=circle) embodies enlightenment, strength, elegance and also the void. It's meant as a spiritual exercise that reveals the state of mind in the moment of creation. The ouroboros is a symbol for autonomy and eternity (the figure is closed within itself, the circle is about to be completed). In geometric terms, this eternity and elegance can be found in the number Pi. Instead of using it a mathematical sign, I use it like an action: written as an infinite numberword (threepointonefouronefiveninetwosixfivethree…). I decided to allow accidents to be a driving force for changing the outcome. Pursuing this ritual over and over again, with whatever happens on the way - is my guiding idea for Shodouroboros. Or: Doing the same, and actually getting different results.

H O L I S P H E R O L A H  follows these premises. But there is one crucial difference: The distorted anatomy of letters. During the work on Shorouroboros in 2019, I had to think about how much disruption plays a part in our contemporary lives. Thus, I replaced the daily routine by getting used to distortion and disruption instead. Not everyday, but with much irregularity, I would work on these rituals. Here I approach the point of almost losing the perfect shape. Instead of attempting to find perfection in the perfect shapes, this suite aims for competition in the opposite way: It celebrates the present as it shows itself right now. The title is a combination of the terms „holism“ and „sphere“… implying that script and circle are influenced by using the white of the paper as hidden attractors and distractors of the 3rd dimension. This is an absurd reinterpretation of the „active use of empty spaces“... a common prayer among typographers.

M E T R U M O R P H I U M  is a series of work started in 2019, stopped in 2020 and continued in 2023 for this exhibition. This timing has a huge impact on the works. Hopefully you can experience the many slight differences between the older and newer works. As explained in Shodouroboros, I chose to write numberwords. Not Pi, because another number is tighter related to the eightfold figures (A motif quite frequent in Islamic art). I was interested in exploring the use of endless strapworks, but preferring asymmetry rather than perfect symmetry. These strapworks generate a lot of guided motion. They bring a still geometric shape into vivid pulsation. Metrumorphium plays with the terms „metrum“ and a mixture of "morphium" and "morphosis"... so something somewhat rhythmical aimed to fall into place via constant transformation. In the two newer pieces, the calligraphic styles are shifting and even transform fluently into mere textural fields and clusters.

M N E M O K I N E S I A M  n°1 is the first piece of the recently started series of work. The focus is simply put, to use script exclusively as a dynamic texture, while using geometry in a more obvious way. So far, I used script in two ways: As strapworks to guide the eye, and as eye-catchers to highlight a certain area. I asked myself if there could be at least a third completely different way to use script in geometric contexts: What, If I would not highlight anything, what If I don’t use script to guide the eye? This led me to experiment with ephemeral structures, such as those to be observed in dune-formations or swirling streams of water. A vibrating motion throughout the image can be observed, If you stand at the right distance to it. Approach it too closely, and this visual impression dissolves. Using script in this way, the geometric silhouette becomes very important. While the script dissolves into a mere web, it puts the silhouette into the role of the eye-catcher. Writing texturally automatically ends up being somewhat meditative: it demands for few words and mantra-like repetition. That’s why I called it Mnemokinesiam. It’s an allusion to the words „mnemosys“ (reminder) and „kinesis“ (movement). Like all the other titles, this one as well is nothing but a game of associations, that somehow looks like an old and strange language, giving away vague impressions of what this work is about.

I hope these words may help in making your visit here worth while. Yes... pictures do speak for themselves (and say more than a thousand words...) but in their strange language. They don’t explain what exactly went into making them. If you have any further questions or feedback, don’t hesitate writing me. And obviously: Feel free to share your personal experience here in the gastenboek.
If you are interested in a personal guided tour through this exhibition, you‘re welcome to join me on April 30th, at 10h30. I’d be happy to provide you with insights into the process behind these works and to answer your questions.

Enjoy your visit!