The only Constant is Change
Contemporary life is characterized by uncertainty and complexity. The feeling that we are living in a shifting reality is becoming more and more apparent; change is not only an idea, but rather felt on many levels. Nothing is solid, all is in movement and most importantly – all is intrinsically interconnected.
My pieces exhibit this interconnectedness. They show complexity which is not complication, but complexity in coherence. Every movement and stage within the work-process of my pieces asks to be looked at totally free from a preset mind. Every step no matter how tiny, contributes to balance the interrelated manifestation.
I make meticulous and intricate works on paper, combining elements of ink-pen, watercolor, and “sculpturally” cut and reinserted fragments.
Alongside my basic method of drawing (the making of small “staccato” lines) and use of watercolor, the act of cutting plays a crucial role in these works, physically as well as conceptually. Small sections are excised from one work (“world”) on paper while identically sized fragments are cut from another piece. The fragments are then exchanged and reinserted, creating a topographical upheaval between several pieces, which are now indelibly linked. Each cut is simultaneously an end and a beginning. Each cut is a first step to something new, a possibility, and every step is again and again – the first step.
My technique is not just a technique, as therein lies the concept. The content and philosophy are in my creative process and the process creates a manifestation of it. The process is always intuitive. An inner journey with an outer outcome.
My recent work has introduced what might be seen as planetary spheres. While I am not trying to recreate actual planets, I do believe this alludes to the idea that everything is in relation to everything else; planets, humans, plants and so forth. Nothing exists by itself, nor evolves by itself. We only exist in relation.
Nelleke Beltjens 2024