3 Swiss cycle "Terminus" (Endstation)       2  "Shake Hands"         1 "Seen from the back"          

3 A-E

“Gspalt” is the Swiss word for glacier crevasse.
After a near-fatal mountain accident in 1976 in the Bernese Oberland with my father and brother, I began a series of artworks involving photography, drawings and video recordings about this mountain region. This led to a series of works that pay tribute to the power of the mountains. Just as mushrooms are the tips of the root system beneath the earth, mountains are the crown jewels of this planet. The Niesen mountain, located at the beginning of the Bernese Oberland with its almost perfect geometry in the shape of a triangle, has become the basis of this cycle. An ode to this mountain and to the earth as a whole. The artworks differ in terms of media and execution. They have one thing in common: they bear witness to the awareness and awe for this earth on which we live. The intensive use of these mountains led me, a number of years later, to decide to no longer go into the mountains and to transform the memories into works of art.
The cycle includes the works: "Gleich, aber nie gleich"’ (1991-2025), the video film “Endstation” (Terminus 1991), the installation ‘Immer gerade aus’ (1991), ‘Naar stilte van witten en zwarten’ (Towards the silence of whites and blacks 2009) and the video animation “Gspalten” (under construction), together with the series of digital photo works ‘New Planet’ (2000 - 2010).

3A

Gleich, aber nie gleich

(The same, but never the same)

1993 - 2025 

By following the geometry of the mountain in the presentation, a congruence with the “Niesen” is created. The title reflects this: “Das Gleiche, aber niemals dasselbe” (The same thing, but never the same). It is intended as an “ode” to the mountain. The letters on the ground refer to an event in the mountains. This event was the inspiration for this group of works. Each drawing is 70x100cm in various technique.

3B

Endstation (Terminus) 1991

In 60 minutes a mountain is brought to life. Meditative images of a mountain are taken from a fixed point of view, at different times of the day and under different weather conditions. 'Terminus' is characterized by a continuous tension between conceptual rigidity on one hand, and manipulations by the artists on the other. This can also be said of the soundtrack, which combines sounds recorded on location with music which was composed especially for this project by Wiel Conen. This mountain is a symbol of my Swiss cycle of work, and of the time I spent there since my 16th birthday.

1992, 01:00:25. In collection: LIMA

presentation  in a garage Arnhem 2002

3C

‘Towards silence of whites and blacks’ 2009

This work shows how the mountain landscape has changed. I had not been to this place for more than thirty years. The mountains had been completely transformed from eternal snow to a collapsed landscape of grey and black stones and rocks.

3D

Immer gerade aus (1991) 

(Straight ahead)  video 6.00 min 

The upper chest contains a monitor, upright, showing images of an old house in the mountains. Through a window a mountain landscape is visible. Afternoon is faded into evening. The side panels of the chest are engraved in gothic script with the words " Immer gerade aus" and "Perfectie bereikt men pas als men afziet van middelen die leiden tot een bewuste overdrijving".('Perfection can only be achieved by refraining from means that lead to deliberate exaggeration.' Paul Válery). The bottom chest partly covered in tar, contains loudspeakers from which domestic sounds and sounds from outside are audible. A radio broadcast recorded in August 1990 can also be heard with news of the first political and military complications in the Gulf. It is clear from the news bulletin that the embargo lead to war. The news is continually interrupted by a local yodelling song. 

1992, 01:00:25. In collection: LIMA

3E

"GSPALTEN" video-animation of the 36 drawings (under construction) 

Four sequences in crossfade

GSPALTEN (glacier crevasse) 1986

In 1986, my daughter Torill was born. This wonderful new life brought me an intense sense of being. This intense feeling took me back to 1976, the moment when I unfortunately ended up in a crevasse and stared death in the face. Another ten years later, in 1989, I started the Swiss cycle “Terminus”.

2

Shake Hands   1979 - 20..  

is a project that focuses on encounters. The creator encounters himself in different periods of time, in the past, present and future. In the first photograph,  the artist wishes himself luck with his future. In the last photograph, half of which is yet to be taken, he congratulates himself on his artistry and legacy.  

"The artist wishes himself luck with his future" 1979

the second encounter "Sugarloafmountain" (Boulder USA) 1980 - 2000

the third encounter Bakkum(NL) 1980 - 2013

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