DE GEZONKEN MEESTERS (THE SUNKEN MASTERS)
I participated in the Dutch TV program De Gezonken Meesters. This is a creative competition of consisting of six episodes. The episode in which I can be seen is about the Handmaid with a Hare, by Gabriel Metsu and was broadcast on February 2, 2025 on NPO 1 at Omroep MAX. You can watch the episode again via: Uitzending gemist
SYMBOLIEK
You might expect the naked body of this young woman to be a reaction to Metsu's hidden eroticism. However, this work is not about eroticism, because the body in my work plays a different role than desire. This is made clear by the Latin message that can be seen on the wall:
“Non sum persona mea, non sum corpus meum, spiritus sum", which means in English: "I am not my personality, I am not my body, I am spirit".
In this way, in this work I tell 'the naked truth' about who we as human beings essentially are; a divine spark, a spiritual being who gains a temporary experience through the body.
THE DEAD HARE AND ETERNAL LIFE
The dead hare symbolizes transience, which in this version is not skinned, but is lovingly held by the maid. She knows that the hare is not his body, and that they are essentially one.
The symbolism of immortality refers to the story of Alice in Wonderland, where Alice ends up in a dream state at the house of the March hare. There is a tea ceremony going on where time always stands still. This scene is the inspiration for the environment of the maid, with a teapot, water jug, fresh and tea herbs, and a teacup with three symbols of eternal life on it. The hare's clock is eternally at 12 o'clock.
MY VLOGS
For The Sunken Masters I not only had to make the ‘Handmaid with the Dead Hare’, but also capture the entire creative process on film.
In this video you can see all the steps I took to get to my Gabriel Metsu – a montage of all my vlogs in a row. I am sorry that I didn't find the time yet to subtitle the video.
I would like to invite you to visit my exhibition ‘Onderweg’ at the Stedelijk Museum Meppel. During this exhibition you can not only admire the complete series I am not my body, but there is also a nice overview of my sculptures from the past ten years. Welcome!
AANKOPEN
This series is produced in a limited edition of 17 copies. If you would like to purchase this work, or the entire series, this is still possible. Click on the 'order' buttons below for more information.
BASIC CONCEPT
OUR BODY
The first thing that stands out in this series of six works is that the people in these world-famous paintings, such as Vermeer's Milkmaid, are naked. Because these iconic personalities are naked, they are partly stripped of their personality and you suddenly see 'ordinary' people of flesh and blood. Nevertheless, the title tells a different message about the body. The title is therefore the starting point for creating these works, and is essential for the message:
I am not my personality
I am not my body
I am Spirit
19 / 5.000 INFINITE CONSCIOUSNESS
With this work I am telling you that you are not a body. You are the observer of the body. You are not a 'little I' that dies after one minute or 100 years as a bag of skin and bones. You are infinite consciousness that experiences through the temporary 'vehicle' that is our body.
By identifying with our body and our personality, we deny our true Self. With this expansion of consciousness I want to give with this work the invitation to allow a greater area of possibility and probability.
ONTSTAANSGESCHIEDENIS
De serie ‘I am not my body’ is ontstaan dankzij een uitnodiging die ik kreeg om deel te nemen aan een expositie met het thema ‘naakt’. Dit dwong mij om na te denken over dit onderwerp dat mij aanvankelijk niet inspireerde. De enige, zinvolle weg die ik wilde inslaan was om de ‘naakte waarheid’ te vertellen. Wie zijn wij in wezen werkelijk: wij zijn niet het lichaam, wij zijn geestelijke energie.
De vraag hoe ik het fenomeen ‘Geest’ kon verbeelden binnen het thema naakt, hield me maanden bezig. Uiteindelijk was het een ingeving die ik kreeg, vlak voordat ik insliep: Wereldberoemde schilderijen ontdoen van hun kleding, en daarmee van een stukje van hun identiteit. Tot mijn verrassing vond ik op internet geen vergelijkbaar concept.
SCHILDEREN MET PIXELS
Met veel geduld en precisie heb ik deze reeks op de computer in Photoshop gemaakt. Dit deed ik o.a. door het opbouwen van tientallen lagen over elkaar. Het is dus digitaal handwerk op pixelniveau. De prints met hoogwaardige inkten zijn op speciaal papier gedrukt en lijken ambachtelijke olieverfschilderijen. Wanneer je naar deze blote meesterwerken kijkt, zullen de originele schilderijen daarna een heel andere emotie oproepen.