What is art without a message?
As long as I can
remember I have been a woman and artist. Enraptured by techniques, I
am a photographer by trade (studied in Belgium) and took courses in
medieval techniques (at one of the two schools in the world,
in Portugal). I was born in The Netherlands, lived in various
countries around the world and since October 2017 indefinitely in Saudi Arabia.
In
‘Chilling Climates’ two contemporary concerns are brought
together: the change of our climate and the refugee crisis. An
interactive art-installation, inviting and encouraging to reflect on
the influence we have as human beings on all living matter on this
planet.
On
the floor are drawn crime outlines covered by dead leaves or flowers.
Though the crime outline could have been of any child who died on the
way to safety, it is an exact outline of Alan Kurdi, the toddler who
drowned
on 2 September 2015 in the Mediterranean Sea and
was found on the beach near Bodrum in Turkey.
His
silhouette in gold foil is under the cracking earth on the panels of
‘Tellus Stabilta’. The golden silhouettes are also a reference to
the famous story of Ishmael, the firstborn son of Abraham, who,
according to holy books, was dying in the desert but saved by God.
The question it raises is: if God saved Ishmael, why not Alan Kurdi?
If it is not God but us human beings: how do we treat our children?
With reference to the cracking earth: why do we treat our earth so
badly? What legacy do we leave to our children?
With
the floor covered in leaves or flowers, the spectator is invited to
kick-walk a patter or path (as many did as children). Unaware at
first while kicking away, the crime outlines will appear from
underneath.
When
realisation strikes, what do we do? Do we step on it? Over or around it?
How do we wish to be remembered?
A
rake on standby we might use it to clean up and start all over
again...demonstrating that we are able to change our paths.
Jeddah,
Aljohara.
