What is the connection between eternity and mortality? This is a question that
Meinbert Gozewijn van Soest has been contemplating for many years. In his
Cabinet of Relics, a collection of newspaper photos, texts, quotations, objets
trouvés, dead animals he has found, relics, photos and books, he is searching
for an answer to this question. 'Academic research makes use of established,
preferably unchanging facts. My research, on the other hand, is an intuitive
search for a personal order of the emotions in matters that are continually
subject to change,’ says Gozewijn about the way in which his work is formed.
This question is also central to his drawings. However, for Gozewijn there is
no fascination in the dark side of life. In the past he seemed to want to
emphasise the vulnerable elements of life, as he depicted so beautifully in
'Skeleton with flower'. He primarily produces his drawings in series, which he
then presents as a single work of art or a single installation. Gozewijn
manages to confront the viewer with this repetition, like in his life-size
Paparazzi series. With their faces hidden behind the camera, nothing escapes
them. Their number, size and above all positions and movements make the
presence of the paparazzi realistic. Even in those drawings where Gozewijn
follows reality as little as possible, his suggestive power shines through.
The presentation of the drawings in a series gives the interested viewers the
opportunity to compare the drawings with each other. Gozewijn manages to
achieve real highpoints in the places where the crisscross of lines break
loose from each other and from the paper and the drawings almost take on a
three-dimensional form (see the Vera Icon 3 series, for example).
Historical events are often a source of inspiration for Gozewijn. In the Vera
Icon series, he reconstructs the Sudarium of Saint Veronica, for example,
which disappeared in the 16th century. This is the veil that Saint Veronica
offered to Jesus on which to mop his sweat whilst on his way to Calvary, and,
according to legend, his face was imprinted on it. The term ‘Vera Icon’ (the
true image) can be produced from the letters contained in the name ‘Veronica’.
Meinbert Gozewijn van Soest (1964, Alkmaar) took the Monumental Design course
at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie. His work could be seen in solo exhibitions in
many locations, including the Sociëteit de Kring in Amsterdam, the Galerie de
Praktijk in Amsterdam and in various ministries in The Hague. The Stedelijk
Museum in Amsterdam, the Teylers Museum in Haarlem, the municipal archives in
Amsterdam and other locations also include Gozewijn's work in their
collections.
