Niels whwd

A box is a container which allows one to move several items at the same time. Boxes facilitate touch, and can be held.

Departure (on vanashing) is a collection of sixteen boxes that can be opened and closed. When opened you can see the boxes contain a small grass hill, an island. The smallest box is about 7cm by 7cm by 7cm, the largest is about 45cm by 14cm by 30cm. The found boxes are made of wood and metal. The islands are made of styrofoam, plaster, varnish, acrylics and fake grass.

Each is a part of a minimal visual story that can be moved physically, a story that unravels itself when glancing inside. This is a record on longing, motion, and disappearing. Departures is in a state of constant expansion. As I find more boxes the installation grows, and so does the story. In combination with other works they provide a scenario which can be read as an open ended scenario.

Tower is a beam of maple, 5cm by 5cm by 180cm. Each side is engraved with shapes similar to windows. The bottom hangs about half a centimeter from the floor. It is suspended from a metal bracket.

After sanding the maple was treated with several layers of linseed oil. A brass hook was screwed into the top. The metal bracket was fixed to the wall with three brass screws. The beam hangs only just above the floor, this creates a subtle shadow on the floor. It also creates doubt: An object that is not sure whether it is hanging or standing.

While waiting for the bus I was looking at the houses opposite the street. After I changed my thinking slightly, it was not the people making sounds, but the house itself. A house that grows and speaks. The visual doubts in tower give it character. I am looking for different ways in which I can make architecture more alive.

Leaking lighthouse is a walnut beam, hanging from the ceiling. The beam is about 5cm by 5cm by 190cm. After sanding, several layers of linseed oil where applied. A text is engraved in, and spiraling around the wood. A wire places the beam barely above the floor.

The text “Leaking lighthouse, abandoned water. Delayed diagonal, mimicked broadcast.” is engraved with a font commonly used in novels. A novel stores a history, this beam facilitates a dense text about time being registered by devices more abstract than clocks.

By subtly moving, the beam responds to people walking around it. These movements form a quiet dialogue between the beam, space and spectator that adds a layer of personality to the beam.