Turn Back Time

Martin Gabriel, Tobias Lengkeek, Marjolijn van der Meij, Olphaert den Otter

video, three dimensional work, paintings, work on paper

19 November through 17 December 2017
after 17 December open by appointment through 30 December

Time is a concept that is difficult to visualize; it is mainly noticeable in the changes people and things go through. The underlying fact is that practically everything is in a constant state of transition in a cycle of creation, deterioration and regeneration. In his World Stress Paintings, Olphaert den Otter (1955) depicts buildings and landscapes that have been transformed into ruins and wildernesses by some catastrophe, but then again can also be rebuilt or produce new life. This theme is portrayed explicitly by Tobias Lengkeek (1991) in his Alteration paintings, featuring objects in the process of transition. In his series Debris he attempts to capture the time between the moment things have turned into waste and their former state when they were new and whole.

Marjolijn van der Meij (1970) actively manipulates transformation by distorting or partially covering old photographs of artworks, portraits and architecture. The image is thus deformed but also revived and is given a new inner tension and depth of focus. Martin Gabriel (1991) explores the element of time in the virtual world of videogames where different options are available at the same time to the player. He visualizes this by portraying three versions of an avatar in a painting, or by building a model of a virtual space. At the center of it is an octagonal well, a kind of Fons Vitae, that looks as if it has travelled from a medieval tapestry to the virtual world of the videogame.