Screenscapes are depictions of a world where the virtual world slides into reality. What we see is just a make-believe reality, a copy of something whose original we have lost.
Nadja Willekens explores the intriguing relationship between visibility and invisibility, inspired by Jean Baudrillard, who lamented the replacement of authentic reality with semblances, known as 'simulacra.' Willekens blurs the boundary between virtual and physical reality in her 'Screenscapes,' where the computer screen replaces the traditional window, and composite urban landscapes form a created, infinite, isolated urbanity. Within this simulated environment, lonely characters wander, while fragmented elements of nature symbolize the longing for lost nature in the digital age.
Balancing between romance and technology, Willekens explores the digital world, reminiscent of the 19th-century journey of Scottish painter David Roberts to Egypt. She creates digital sketches, assembles them on a graphic tablet, and later in the studio, allowing her to form contemporary 'Seelenlandschaften' (landscapes of the soul), in line with Friedrich.
In her quest for reality and virtuality, Willekens gives a modern twist to traditional Japanese woodblock printing techniques. She designs a "shita-e," a perfectly reproducible print, using digital and printing techniques, which she then further works on with various materials.
The print serves as a bridge between the virtual and the real. In this unique way, Willekens brings the complexity of our contemporary visual experiences to life.
