The Shores of the Desert door Alma van de Burgwal
Over het werk
500 x 300 x 15 cm
Porselein / gemixte techniek
2020
The word paradise finds its origin in Persian and the term is composed of two parts; pairi meaning: around and diza, in modern Persian meaning: fort or enclosure. A paradise defines an enclosed estate and rather than speculating about what this area contains, it describes the wall surrounding it.
When the focus lies on the fence, the surrounded area becomes very important, perhaps more important than what these walls contain. In our near future, like in exodus, we will experience migrations of an extent that has not been seen before. Access to freshwater, fertile grounds and essentially life is more accurate than ever.
In The Shores of the Desert Van de Burgwal speculates on the poetical representation of what this wall could look like and addresses this question of access. The porcelain elements are cast on the sand of Dilmun, an ancient civilization located in the Persian Gulf. It was believed to be the location of the celestial garden in the late 19thcentury. Nowadays this theory finds support by several scholars.
The translucent porcelain elements allow light to come through, creating the possibility, through shadows, to be on both sides at once. The installation acknowledges the visitor as the porcelain starts to shiver locally where shadow is cast on it. What side of the wall is inside or outside remains open for interpretation.
Over de maker
I’ve always intuitively felt a strong influence of my surrounding on my emotional state of mind. Which has made me wonder how we relate to our architectural environment and how it could relate to us. What could happen if we treat our architectural surrounding as an organ, temporary in it’s state and adaptive to our needs, rather than a static entity? True my studies in architecture I try to better understand what it is we actually need from our built environment and through my practice I try to apply these findings in architectural interventions which can recognize both our bodies and our needs as they emerge.
In 2022 exposeerde Alma bij Art Rotterdam, The New Current en bij het Design Care Lab in Amsterdam, Constructing fragrance. The Shores of the Desert is de inzending van Alma van de Burgwal voor de Open Call EXODUS van Bijbels Museum en Buitenplaats Doornburgh.
