emilehermans.com
In 2020 and 2021 most of us experienced various degrees of isolation.
Regarding myself as isolated by will, this mandatory confinement lead
me to new insights on isolation as a whole, and in search for historical
precedents, I turned in particular to esotericism.
Maastricht is one of many cities that used to be surrounded by bastioned
fortifications; beyond their once–presumed–power to protect, their
geometry has an aesthetic quality that endures, especially when seen
from above. Was this power ceded to the walls of our homes, now that
cities have expanded far beyond their former lines of defense?
And what else, really, is the protection offered by the average house
today, other than a legal and social construct?
Regarding myself as isolated by will, this mandatory confinement lead
me to new insights on isolation as a whole, and in search for historical
precedents, I turned in particular to esotericism.
Maastricht is one of many cities that used to be surrounded by bastioned
fortifications; beyond their once–presumed–power to protect, their
geometry has an aesthetic quality that endures, especially when seen
from above. Was this power ceded to the walls of our homes, now that
cities have expanded far beyond their former lines of defense?
And what else, really, is the protection offered by the average house
today, other than a legal and social construct?
costum wooden door, wooden trestles, laquer (93 x 211 x 6 cm / 93 x 211 x 76 cm including trestles) | wooden architraves, laquer
(20 x 18 x 2 cm - small series / 45 x 50 x 3 cm - large series) | 17th century brick (9 x 22 x 5 cm) | brick shavings (approx. 40 x 40 cm)
triptych – 2021/2022 (realised with the support of Greylight Projects - Heerlen, NL)