saskia baetens and tom rowe
"bonten beestes" - sculptures
30 november 2007 - 29 february 2008
Bonten beestjes is a deceivingly simple journey of imagination. It is the explorative fascination of what might co-exist within the realms of limitless scale and crossbreeding.
Out of the hat, one can easily draw reference transcending cultural history and traditions of half human-half beast deities possessing supernatural powers and insights or wisdom. Rabbits seem to play an important part in the lives and myths of people from all over the world. For Aesopus and Lafontaine a stupid and arrogant hare lost a race against a tortoise. In Medieval imagery the rabbit is a symbol of fertility, but also of lust. For the ALgonquin Indians Manibozjo the big hare was the Sun God but also a trickster. For us and for now we have the popular idols of Bugs Bunny and Brother Rabbit, Peter Rabbit and the Easter rabbit, not to mention playboy.
The sculptures obtain half human hybrid bodies, but this again is not new to our traditions. Myths all tell of mermaids, sphinxes, manticores, centaurs and other endless fantasies of the primitive. However these traditional hybrids present very different embodiments to that of a human rabbit. Immediately we are confronted with contradiction. The objects flirt with reality and with a seriousness that infers sarcasm. There is an absurdity to us as “superior mammals” (perhaps egocentrically) genetically bound into rabbit form. There are without doubt ironies of this union, the supernatural wisdom replaced by the promiscuous and impulsive.
Histories and cultural myths aside the very tactile and human-like qualities of the work allow an intrinsic and fundamental physicality. The very sensuous medium provides a compelling platform to imagine. Our body demands we engage with the physical realm. We cannot ignore or avoid relating ourselves to these creatures of parallel form. The compelling shift of scale immediately pulls together the objects as characters from what is to what might be. We are presented with ironic imagery, a combination of realistic observation, sympathy, nostalgia and a wink.
About the artist:
The work presented, mixes imagery from Saskia’s childhood, from enchanted summer days, dreams and stories, real life observations of pet animals, myths, and collective memories embodied in heroic bronze. Saskia grew up AT A small farm in the North of Belgium. The single paddock was surrounded by native bushes and trees. It was a world full of living things, farm animals big and small, birds in the bushes, thousands of the glittering insects on wildflowers, lizards, voles, mice shrews and weasels crawling around under the cover of the high grass. We can only imagine there to be countless rabbits in residence to this landscape. At age five Saskia had a pet rabbit.
Of particular literary influence were two significant works. Watership Down with its rabbit society mimicking human society (or vice versa) was one of the classics. The other hugely influential work was a tiny volume, only 10x10 cm or so, called “The little furry Animals” -(De bonten Beestjes). It told a story about the younger member of a family of diminutive bear-like animals who wandering around in outdoors discovers even smaller bear like animals. At six Saskia illustrated a poem written by her older sister Dominiek. The poem is a hymn on life and nature and Saskia invents a whole underground world where mice, rabbits and earthworms have real homes and real furniture. Saskia graduated from Elam School of fine Arts. She subsequently worked in film as a prop maker for Pacific Renaissance. Saskia has also graduated from Auckland University with two degrees in architecture. She currently works in architecture and as yet has not built any buildings mimicking rabbits. She has a pet black rabbit called puppy which is a subject of continual observation and study.
Tom Rowe
