Folkert de Jong NL, 1972
Ancestor 3, (Don Fedrique de Toledo), 2023
Verre acrylique, mousse de polyuréthane, éclairage LED, matériaux divers
Acrylic glass, polyurethane foam, LED lights, diverse materials
Acrylic glass, polyurethane foam, LED lights, diverse materials
190 x 60 x 50 cm
74 3/4 x 23 5/8 x 19 3/4 inches
74 3/4 x 23 5/8 x 19 3/4 inches
FDJ026
Copyright The Artist
A sculptural installation comprising five display cases based on the victory over Spanish rule in 1573. The figures—Cabiliau, Trijn Rembrandts, Don Frederik, William of Orange, and Diederik van Sonooy—appear to...
A sculptural installation comprising five display cases based on the victory over Spanish rule in 1573. The figures—Cabiliau, Trijn Rembrandts, Don Frederik, William of Orange, and Diederik van Sonooy—appear to step out of the narratives surrounding the Spanish occupation of 1573 and the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648).
De Jong used the gravestones that pave the floors of Dutch churches to create casts, thereby bringing the floor—and the stories of the dead once buried beneath the stones—back to life. He achieved this by creating casts using transparent, colored epoxy. By translating traditional stories and historical imagery into materials atypical for art—such as Styrofoam and polyurethane foam—he seeks to create a hybrid form that visualizes a displacement in time and space.
Sometimes the figures are surrounded by drawings depicting events from Dutch history; at other times, they lie wearing headphones and holding game controllers. Consequently, the figures in the coffins do not appear to be the deceased, but rather contemporaries journeying toward the future—equipped with internet connections, smartphones, and entertainment—as they await a better tomorrow.
De Jong used the gravestones that pave the floors of Dutch churches to create casts, thereby bringing the floor—and the stories of the dead once buried beneath the stones—back to life. He achieved this by creating casts using transparent, colored epoxy. By translating traditional stories and historical imagery into materials atypical for art—such as Styrofoam and polyurethane foam—he seeks to create a hybrid form that visualizes a displacement in time and space.
Sometimes the figures are surrounded by drawings depicting events from Dutch history; at other times, they lie wearing headphones and holding game controllers. Consequently, the figures in the coffins do not appear to be the deceased, but rather contemporaries journeying toward the future—equipped with internet connections, smartphones, and entertainment—as they await a better tomorrow.