LIFE IN A SHELL (2022)
https://www.tomherck.com/lifeinashell2020
The question of the meaning of life is the most fundamental question of human existence. We want more than subjective meaning, and the task of creating our own meaning is enormous. This leads us to consider the objective values and meanings found in the natural world—things like truth, goodness, beauty and transformation. 'Life in a shell' refers to all these aspects. Inspired by the expression 'life in a nutshell', the installation gives a brief summary of life's highlights. Mesmerizing peacock wings are displayed on the wall.
Mediating between heaven and earth, birds are magical beings. For thousands of years, the beauty of the gorgeous, rather peculiar peacock triumphed as a symbol of sexuality, pride, and power. In many ancient cultures peacocks, with their golden “eyes” or “stars” and lustrous feathers, symbolize the cosmos, all-seeing wisdom, immortality and light. Historically, some traditions equate the peacock to the Phoenix, a mythical bird that is said to have risen from funeral pyre ash and to be reborn. In Christianity, the peacock symbolizes the “all-seeing” church, as well as resurrection, renewal and immortality. Peacocks are thus a reference to paradise. The peacock has an almost universal appeal that inspired many philosophers, scientists and artists.1
Exotic and extravagant, the peacock seems to exist to be looked at and has often been connected to hedonism, a school of thought that argues seeking pleasure and avoiding suffering are the only components of well-being. Tom translates the bird's plumage into splendid patterns, evoking its dualistic essence, with its raucous voice and pugnacious attitude. In Western tradition, the peacock represents, the sin of pride. Pieter Brueghel associated peacock's feathers with vainglory in his engraving “The Seven Deadly Sins: Pride” (1558).2 In Christian teachings, vanity is an example of pride, one of the seven deadly sins.3
Contradicting the (Christian) belief that flesh does not decay, Life in a shell confronts us with the temporality of our being and the destructive nature of mankind. The vanitas motif is represented by the thematics of the work, but also in the decoration. The wing’s ‘eyes’ are consciously replaced by human skulls -the embodiment of vanitas – vanity-, engraved manually in mother of pearl, reflecting luscious green and radiant blue peacock feather colors. With this extravagant composition, the artist renders natures display in its most seductive aspects. The choice of mother of pearl, a quintessential representation of female virginity and purity and a symbol of love thanks to association with Aphrodite and Venus, the Greek, and Roman goddesses of love, respectively. Pearls aren’t just associated with sex and money, but with excess. This life-sized installation plays off of the immortal theme, dealing with the impermanence of all earthly things.
Warnings of the effects of negative human activities due to a man-nature disconnection are recurring motifs in the artist's oeuvre. In Life in a shell the endangered green peacock serves as an allegory of human vanity. The artist plays with the contrast between beauty and decay. Earthly colors contrast with oxidized copper panels and burned wooden material -the burning process can be destructive, but is here used to create-. Copper (one of the few metals that can occur in nature in a directly usable metallic form) has advanced human civilization from the Stone Age into the future. Used in satellites, space shuttles, computers, weapons as coins, copper symbolizes power and wealth, but also stands for exploitation and destruction. The materials in this installation will also be treated with corrosive acid; a substance that can attack and chemically destroy exposed body tissues. Corrosives can also damage or even destroy metal. Although a strong willingness to reconnect with the natural world comes to surface in this installation, the vibrant interplay of materials and symbols reflects the duality that lies within nature.
