Niels whwd

A box is a tool which allows one to move several items at the same time. Boxes facilitate touch, and are made to 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 boxes are made of wood and metal, found in second hand stores, or on the street. The islands are made of styrofoam, plaster, varnish, acrylics and fake grass. They are shaped to fit in the boxes. 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 story about 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 story.

Tower is a beam of maple, 5cm by 5cm by 180cm. Into each side 22 shapes are embedded that remind of windows. It is hanging from a metal bracket, about half a centimeter from the floor. The shapes are milled into the wood with a CNC machine. 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 a doubt: An object that is not sure wether it is hanging or standing. This doubt is important because it is present in other works also. An ambivalence which opens up possibilities for own interpretation. A similar ambivalence is visible in the embedded shapes which can be windows.

Leaking lighthouse is a walnut beam, hanging from the ceiling. The beam is about 5cm by 5cm by 190cm, and dark in colour. The text “Leaking lighthouse, abandoned water. Delayed diagonal, mimicked broadcast.” is embedded in, and spiraling around the wood. The beam barely touches the floor. The text is milled into the wood with a CNC machine and the font is “Palatino Linotype”. After sanding, several layers of linseed oil where applied. A metal hook was screwed in the top, another metal hook was screwed in the ceiling. A thin metal wire hangs the wood barely above the floor. Words written down in a notebook where mixed up. To me, these words are about time being registered by devices more abstract than clocks. These words needed to obtain a precence (get a body) more physical than paper. By subtly moving, the beam responds to people walking around it. These movements are a quiet dialogue between the beam, space and spectator that adds a layer of personality to the beam.