Foldable People
Since man started counting, man started to index, categorise and prioritize. An apparently harmless process, but with the introduction of the dynamic database, human deviation seems to have been excluded as 'fault' and it has become increasingly difficult to remain individual within a quantitative system. Hitherto the notion of human beauty used to be about an idea or image that stands out, nowadays it seems to be no less than a requirement for social survival. I'm exploring the fine line between beauty and captivity in this way of thinking which started over 2000 years ago.
The Project Foldable People is a study in serial beauty. It critically investigates the idea of manageable and proportionable beauty in our categorised society. Increasingly, people need to meet strict social, economical and bodily requirements in order to be or become a functional and acknowledged member of society. Diversity is becoming standardized. I am concerned with the cultural, humanistic and artistic consequences of this phenomenon.
While working on the project, I became aware of the fact that it draws heavily on standards and developments within West-European Society [my environment]; the base of it being the ideas on proportion by Vitruvius [Rome, c. 70BC] who himself only spoke of beauty in relation to the adolescent white [Caucasian] human male and with this notion discarding about 95% of the world's population. The future for the project therefore lies in exploring the cultural correlations between beauty and proportion.
During my 2010 Artist in Residency period at Studio Kura in Japan, I have been prolonging this project resulting in a second version of the piece which I presented at my solo exhibition from August 7 - August 12. You can view a flyer for the event here.
In Japan I have been measuring mostly Japanese people and these findings I have reflected to the earlier collections I have gathered, mostly white Europeans. In turn I composed a mural of lines using the "Japanese style" masking tape to visualise the data.
Some photos of the opening and the exhibit you can find here.
At the graduation exhibition of the KABK in the Hague, I presented a first version of the project which consisted of a paper sculpture and several packaging boxes.
Some photos of this presentation you can find here.
project assistance by Tim Johannis and Genesis PD.
The Project Foldable People is a study in serial beauty. It critically investigates the idea of manageable and proportionable beauty in our categorised society. Increasingly, people need to meet strict social, economical and bodily requirements in order to be or become a functional and acknowledged member of society. Diversity is becoming standardized. I am concerned with the cultural, humanistic and artistic consequences of this phenomenon.
While working on the project, I became aware of the fact that it draws heavily on standards and developments within West-European Society [my environment]; the base of it being the ideas on proportion by Vitruvius [Rome, c. 70BC] who himself only spoke of beauty in relation to the adolescent white [Caucasian] human male and with this notion discarding about 95% of the world's population. The future for the project therefore lies in exploring the cultural correlations between beauty and proportion.
During my 2010 Artist in Residency period at Studio Kura in Japan, I have been prolonging this project resulting in a second version of the piece which I presented at my solo exhibition from August 7 - August 12. You can view a flyer for the event here.
In Japan I have been measuring mostly Japanese people and these findings I have reflected to the earlier collections I have gathered, mostly white Europeans. In turn I composed a mural of lines using the "Japanese style" masking tape to visualise the data.
Some photos of the opening and the exhibit you can find here.
At the graduation exhibition of the KABK in the Hague, I presented a first version of the project which consisted of a paper sculpture and several packaging boxes.
Some photos of this presentation you can find here.
project assistance by Tim Johannis and Genesis PD.
