Placeholder Picture

Location: Buitenplaats Wester Amstel, Ouderkerk, NL

wishful thinking

Commission North Amsterdam/ among others: province of Noord Holland
Location: landgoed de Horst, Westeramstel, group exhibition ‘Outsight’
Materials: perspex, foam, duckweed (Lemna)
Dimensions: l 7 m x b 7 m
Status: realised (temporarely)
Year: 2006

………………

In this group exhibition dedicated to the year of Rembrandt’s birth, a detail of Rembrandts’ work ‘the Sacrifice of Isaac’ (1635) is displayed. As if it concerns a snapshot, he depicted the crucial moment in which the angel Gabriël fetched Abraham's hand. We find time standing still and movement being compressed into one singular moment. Interestingly, it only needs this moment of concentrated action to be reminded of the actions before and after this pivotal point. It references the story of Abraham's fatherhood, the story of Isaac and Ismael, the story of both Arabs and Jews and a never-ending brother fight. There, in receding duckweed and stripped of its original context, the transparent parts of the scene allow the sunlight to enter into the dark water of the pond and at least momentarily illuminate what lies beyond the surface.





Placeholder Picture