grenzer / walking through
Sculpture for a border situation - Belgium and the Netherlands.
Beveren and Nieuw Namen - Kieldrecht.
Border?
Borders are human constructions. They are a concept defined by man to mark out fields. These demarcations, which came about on historical, cultural and sociological grounds, are basically paradoxical in human thinking. Man has always tried to be free. Thinking does not have any borders. ‘The thought is free’ is a theme, which can be found in many cultures. Borders are a restriction for the human doings. The topographic border is something we impose upon ourselves.
A 'field of unity'
The credo of Beethoven’s last (9e) symphony ‘Alle Menschen werden Brüder’ and the frequent international use of this work for state ceremonies shows a human yearning for an intangible utopia, which we have to keep on fostering. Borders sometimes exclude encounters. The feeling of unity is limited because of them.
This places a concept such as 'freedom' in a 'delimiting' context for the individual. Freedom and border are therefore bound to each other. They both tack on the thin line between worldly immensity and impediment. It appears to be a confronting obstacle.
‘Grenzer’ / ‘Border-er’
The figure called 'Grenzer' is itself a thin border. He walks through a screen, a transit zone, from one area to another. He is a passer-by, on the way between two worlds. Borders only exist in our head. Man is free to act. Freedom, which is only freedom when it is not at the expense of our fellow man.
