
Esther Kokmeijer / Margriet van Weenen - Duo presentation
Opening April 11th 16:00
We are proud to present a duo presentation by Margriet van Weenen and Esther Kokmeijer + a new video work by Anouk Kruithof
During the exhibition the new video work ‘Lick it, leak it, like it’ by Anouk Kruithof will be presented in the gallery. A video that merges fleshy sensuality with an unsettling commentary on resource scarcity and environmental crisis. In this semi-erotic performance video, a series of individuals gather by the seashore, facing the endless expanse of the ocean, their eyes fixed on tiny ice sculptures clutched in their hands. Each sculpture is like a popsicle but uniquely absurd, containing frozen fragments of plastic litter, remnants, and waste collected from the sea by Kruithof herself.
Esther Kokmeijer, To Measure the Deepness of the Blue Hour, Mixed media, 50 x 50 cm
Where the Sky meets the Sea, meets the Ice
— ESTHER KOKMEIJER
In her new exhibition ‘Where the Sky meets the Sea, meets the Ice’, Esther Kokmeijer shows work that reflects on the deep urge to discover, order and represent the world’s geographic and natural phenomena. She presents work from three ongoing series: ‘Facing Antarctica’, ‘Terra Nullius’ and ‘Cyanometers’. Kokmeijer presents a series of analog instruments to measure ‘nature’, in an attempt to measure and grasp its natural environment. This ongoing series is inspired by the analog instrument ‘Cyanometer’ of Swiss scientist Horace-Bénédict de Saussure (1740-1799). To measure the blueness of the sky, de Saussure used papers dyed in graduated shades of blue and ordered them in a color circle which he carried climbing Mont Blanc. Alexander von Humboldt used this instrument for scientific research during his expeditions. Kokmeijer makes contemporary Cyanometers, reflecting on our intrinsic desire to quantify and understand the world around us. Among these cyanometers are ‘To measure the darkness of the night sky’, ‘To Measure the Illumination of the Moonlight’ and ‘To Measure the Gradation of the Sunrise and Sunset’. For Esther Kokmeijer creating the colour wheels, feels like a sublime way of interacting with the environment to merge with it and measure the immeasurability of some natural phenomena. Also Kokmeijer presents the work ‘Terra Nullius — Ownership and Pioneering on Ice’ that forms its origine in a political approach. Since the signing of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959, Antarctica has been a preserve for peaceful purposes, scientific investigation, and environmental protection. It is a continent without a native human population, without any weapons, and without any ownership. Although technically not owned by anyone, Antarctica now plays a more significant role on the world stage than ever before.
Kokmeijer started to collect historical and current maps of Antarctica illustrating the various — sometimes overlapping — territorial claims. The maps are made for different purposes by different nations and with various information like mineral deposits, terrain type, bedrock topography, and historical claims. As a statement in support of protecting and preserving Antarctica’s pristine condition, Kokmeijer used correction tape to obscure all details on maps of Antarctica — and more recently, parts of the Arctic, specifically Greenland and Spitsbergen — prompted by the challenges facing the contemporary world. Another work Esther Kokmeijer presents is ‘Facing Antarctica’, an installation featuring a monastery cabinet filled with over forty globes, all oriented with the South Pole facing the viewer. By altering the conventional perspective of the world, Kokmeijer seeks to grant Antarctica a greater sense of significance and magnificence, challenging traditional cartographic representations that often place the region at the margins. This shift in viewpoint invites viewers to reconsider the continent’s role in the global landscape — both geographically and symbolically. In the installation ‘Meet me where the Sky Embraces the Earth’, empty globe frames form a landscape of endurance and strength.
ICEBERG Page 106 number 12, 22 cm x 27,5 cm 2023-2024 acrylic paint & Fotoafdruk op Fuij Crystal DP II (lambda) gemonteerd op dibond
The mountain we trust. The current we are.
— MARGRIET VAN WEENEN