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‘Clay (Sint-Niklaas)’, work in progress.

Clay (Sint-Niklaas)

work in progress, 2023-2024
in collaboration with Roberto Aparicio Ronda

Swamps, moors and wetlands: in both historical and contemporary stories, they are often the symbolic setting for sinister events; a place of mischief and mystery. For instance, the ghost lights created by the slow ignition of swamp gasses often fulfills the role of spirits in sagas and myths because of its mysterious form. Or think of the macabre phenomenon of bog corpses being mummified by the preservative effect of the anaerobic peat soil.
At the same time, wetlands are associated not only with death, but above all with life. They harbor a very diverse ecosystem that plays an important role in the context of climate change as carbon sinks and storm buffers.
The landscape Eeraerts and Aparicio Ronda create in their exhibition is inspired by the Kirkpatrick Marsh in Maryland in the United States. In this marsh, scientists from the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) are studying how plant, microbial and animal species respond to fluctuations in CO2, temperature, nitrogen, methane and sea level rise. Global climate changes are manipulated in architecturally specific and automated infrastructures to replicate the situation of the next century, in anticipation of a new reality.
The overall installation ‘like snakes, the roots of trees, coil themselves from rock and sand’ connects parallels about an uncertain future with impressions of an undisguised nature and humans seeking a place in it.
Stunning aerial images combined with close-ups of lush plant and animal life form the visual basis of the film Moors and Mires/Kirkpatrick Marsh. Several interview clips feature scientists working in Kirkpatrick Marsh. They give insight into the content of their work and their findings but also share their experiences about the specific conditions in which they carry out their research. Their facts and fictions, data and stories, both equally find a home in the beautiful images of the marsh. At various points, the documentary character tilts towards a more dark, computer-generated fictional world; an “altered reality” that provides the setting in which tales of aliens, monsters and death find their natural habitat.
The spatial elements in the exhibition can be understood as visual echoes from the marsh, as in a dreamy vision from the future. The boardwalks, beautifully rendered via drone footage, take a vertical course at certain points and seem to melt or morph in other places. ‘Phragmites australis’, an invasive grass species originally from Europe, can grow at a top speed of one meter per week in Spring, quickly replacing all other vegetation. Phragmites australis have existed for hundreds of years but have only been a real problem in the Kirkpatrick marsh the last thirty to fifty years because of the speed at which they become all-pervasive: ‘some plants will be winners, others will be losers’. The magic and spiritual dimension that nature evokes is alluded to by the same colored light in the video as the lamps that cause the young ‘phragmites australis’ to grow in the dark. Furthermore, we recognize the octagonal structures and cubic elements that provide accurate measurements in the simulation experiments of the future in the Kirkpatrick marsh using CO2 measuring equipment and blowers. In turn, in their octagonal structures, Eeraerts and Aparicio Ronda measure the CO2 concentration and soil temperature around the plants using SERC’s equipment. Lastly, the cubes house the sound system that provides the soundtrack in the exhibition.
In the exhibition, the gloomy science predictions merge seamlessly with the atmosphere created in folklore, sagas and myths in this thought-provoking installation that gets under your skin. At the same time, the conclusion of one of the scientists is as sobering as it is soothing: ‘It might not necessarily be good for humans, but earth itself is going to persist.’

Like snakes, the roots of trees, Coil themselves from rock and sand

STUK, Leuven, Belgium, 2023
in collaboration with Roberto Aparicio Ronda, photos by Joeri Thiry STUK

‘Saint-Jean-Port-Joli’ is a site-specific sculpture in the landscape of Canada, made of compressed snow. A movable mould was made to create the work, by adding snow in 9 phases. After the construction process was completed, 9 modularly casted snow fragments constituted its final shape, which’s geometry is based on a hexagonal prism. As the work reached a certain height, ladders were used to have access to the work while continuing building it. Walking
on top of the snow structure simultaneously allowed us to experience the strength of the compressed snow as an experimental material. Although initally fragile and essentially ephemeral in nature, the snow did transform into a solid temporary architectural substance. The work ‘Saint-Jean-Port-Joli’ deforms through windy weather and additional snow storms and rainfalls. Finally it will gradually disappear through changing temperatures. The process of working in the snow and subsequent natural changes are documented in the video ‘Saint-Jean-Port-Joli’.

Saint-Jean-Port-Joli

ENE, Canada, 2022
in collaboration with Roberto Aparicio Ronda

The installation “Carboniferous Collapse” specifically focuses attention on the past extraction of coal from the underground mines in the region of Basse-Loire, France. The exhibition venue, a 17th century chapel, is also from the same region. The installation contains four spatial elements that refer to different aspects of the geology, exploitation and commodification of coal and elemental carbon from the present and the past.
The first element in the exhibition, Carboniferous Collapse (Ladder), is a very tall ladder, which narrows towards the top, referring to the precarious and treacherous descent of laborers working within the coal mines.
Carboniferous Collapse (Animal Engine), with its rotating interior, suggests the typology and mechanism of pre-industrial animal engines in the region. Its exterior is made up of wooden tiles arranged in a grid inspired by the patterns of the stained glass windows of the church in Montrelais. The tiles also contain silhouettes of key elements extracted from the research that reflects upon the installation as a whole. Carboniferous Collapse (Animal Engine) is a reminder of the use of animal labor in order to generate power before steam engines were invented; specifically in bearing loads up and down through the mines, which was common practice in the coal mines. Often, donkeys or horses were the animals of choice, and therefore a real-life donkey was present at the opening, explicitly not there to work, but rather to perform as a visitor.
The rotating interior contains a rope that passes through a pulley anchored onto a stone that was collected at Cop-Choux, where old lime kilns are located. Burning limestone to chemically transition into quicklime was an additional exploitation practice that was locally interwoven with the coal mines.
Eventually, the rope leads upwards through Carboniferous Collapse (Carbon Nanotube), a long, hollow structure made of carbon fiber, hanging from the very center of the wooden ceiling of the chapel. Carbon fiber and coal are both materials that are mainly composed of elemental carbon. The tube’s geometry mimics the atomic crystal structure of a carbon nanotube, that gradually deforms towards the top. It introduces a futuristic time in contrast to the other elements in the exhibition, where high-end, scientific, man-made processes manipulate/engineer elemental carbon at a molecular level in order to create super strong structures in the form of nanotubes. During the exhibition Carboniferous Collapse (Carbon Nanotube) changes over time. It is first shown as one piece and later splits as two pieces, suggesting a collapse or degradation of the structure.
At the end of the rope hangs Carboniferous Collapse (Lepidophloios Laricinus), containing a plant fossil of about 300 million years old found in a coal mine nearby, in Mouzeil. It is a trace of the Carboniferous era. Through the study of paleobotany, we know that the flora and climate in that period were completely different from today.
The installation is called “Carboniferous Collapse” because it is defined by this specific event in time. Without the disappearance and decomposition of the carboniferous rainforests, the coal beds would not have formed in the first place. The exhibition combines elements that show different perspectives relating to the material of coal and carbon. It reflects upon the underground in terms of human and natural history; and shows contrasting time periods attempting to reflect on our position today, where awareness of carbon sinks and cycles is heightened more than ever.

Carboniferous Collapse

Le Mat, France, 2022
photos by Grégory Valton

In this site-specific installation, energy and more specifically carbon cycles are conceptualized. Its spatial structure is exhibited on a peat bog, called Bargerveen. Peat is still being extracted and used as fuel. Usually logged under water and out of reach of oxygen (O), it has a very high carbon (C) content which is released in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere when drying/burning it. Preserving bogs is important for decarbonization, in fighting climate change. For this project, carbon was extracted from local peat samples, and has been synthesized into a diamond, a symbolic way to store carbon. This diamond, being made of earth, contrasts with the human history of the site. Peat bogs in the Northern Netherlands used to be inhabited by people in extreme poverty. Their short-lived, vernacular dwellings are referenced by the resemblance of “C (Bargerveen)” to a tent in its materials - carbon fiber and textile - and its nomadic, modular design.

C (Bargerveen)

Into Nature, biennial art expedition, Drenthe, the Netherlands, 2021

For the exhibition ‘Variations in Earth’ we present a spatial intervention ‘Possible Patterns’. It is comprised of modular elements. They make up a large volume that emerges as a fragment of built space. The modular elements that the intervention consists of are made of rammed earth. There are 5 different shapes that function intermodularly as a group. Among these, some establish a scaled up/down version of themselves. ‘Possible Patterns’ originates from research into the standardization and customization of shapes, geometry and composition. Through the work’s modularity a multitude of configurations could be (re) built. Within these modular units an additional experiment is materialized through the creation of openings in the middle. These openings have a visual impact, constituting small windows to look through ‘Possible Patterns’ from different sides. Yet they also bring forward fragility in terms of the material stability of rammed earth. Usually, mud bricks do not contain openings within their own volume. Pushing their distinctive balance to its limit, challenges and activates the senses and experience of the viewer.

Possible Patterns

Variations in Earth, Valerie Traan Gallery, Antwerp, Belgium, 2021
in collaboration with Grond Studio, photos by Cinzia Romanin

‘Sand (Lommel)’ (2020-2021) is realized at three different locations in the city center of Lommel, Belgium. It connects sand, nature, past and future in a special way. Sand as a material and Lommel are intertwined through geological occurrences forming layers of sand measuring hundreds of meters below the earth’s surface. These layers contain quartz sand typical for the area, a fine and extremely white sand which is mined for its properties and purity.

One long line divided in three parts, made of sand is integrated in the existing pavement. It sets out a visual trajectory between the three parks in the city. Through drilling until a depth of 200 meters, sand samples have been taken at each meter. Each sand sample has been incorporated into triangular floor elements. Lines consisting of modular triangles show the layers of sand in their true scale: sand that was located at a depth of precisely 100 meters below the earth is instead situated in the line at a length of 100 meters on the surface of the earth. This way the depth and visual aspect of the layers of sand become perceivable.

In order to complement this intervention, additional triangular elements were assembled into tetrahedron shaped helices that mimic the atomic crystal structure of quartz sand, also know as silicon dioxide (SiO2). Some tetrahedrons contain plants that are typical of the biodiversity of Lommel’s eroded sand dune landscape, which is a result of past industrial pollution. All tetrahedrons are covered in sand that originates from the drilling and contain patterns that reference the local tradition of making sand carpets, as well as geometries that refer to the material properties of silicon dioxide.

Finally, the exact spot where the drilling occurred is sealed with a silicon wafer, as a small memorial. This circular disc has the same diameter and shape as the drill. Silicon (Si) is crucial in our highly technological inventions such as microchips and solar cells, and it is the processed result that is extracted from SiO2. That way, the old – the natural, geological past revealed by the drilling – , and the new – material transformation in science and technology – are confronted and unified in the exact same location.

These interventions combine and originated from the idea of making the invisible visible. From the vast layers of sand, to the crystal structures of the quartz atoms and forgotten traditions, the presence of these elements in public space are making these ideas and therefore the city’s identity more tangible.

Sand (Lommel)

commissioned work in public space, Lommel, Belgium, 2020-2021
in collaboration with Roberto Aparicio Ronda

Jan Van Eyck Academy

La Becque

Switzerland, 2019

Jan Van Eyck Academy

Jan Van Eyck Academy

The Netherlands, 2019-2020

Niseko

Niseko, Japan, 2019
in collaboration with Roberto Aparicio Ronda, photo by Yoshisato Komaki

‘Ritual Reality’ is a site-specific work that constitutes three sculptures which utilize the negative-space under the exhibition space’s floor level. Each sculpture is made of locally-sourced earth. The same earth as raw material also makes up the landscape surrounding the sculptures, bringing nature to architecture, transporting the outdoors indoors. Each of the three sculptures consists of two symmetric halves that underwent an elaborate process. The massive earth modules were fire-hardened outdoors through the burning of a wooden structure, which molded their final shape. The wooden beams served as a mechanism to form the volume, giving shape to the sculptures. After the fire, the scaffolding disappeared. The beams also caused the surface of the sculptures vitrify and reveal a variety of colors.
Through its natural material and primitive method, ‘Ritual Reality’ looks archaic. Because the pieces are embedded in the floor of the space, they appear as if they were preexistent, having been excavated and discovered. In this way, the work plays with our perception, breaking the logic of the space.
‘Ritual Reality’ also consists of photographs that depict moments of the firing process, which took place during day and night. Visualizing the process and method brings forward the nature of their creation, where they come from, and reveals the mystical act of mastering fire.

Ritual Reality

Solo, Les Tanneries, France, 2018
photos by Aurélien Mole & Guillaume Blanc

“Recursive Volumes” consists of a large, spatial sculpture and a series of small sculptures; all made of the same raw material: clay. The process of transforming nature, the clay earth, into a built structure can hardly be more direct. The technique requires a manual procedure of shaping the clay walls, almost as if the building would be a vast enlargement of a piece of pottery. The small objects consist of the exact same shape that is established by the space. Ten times smaller, their repetition in a much smaller scale causes a recursion within the totality of this work. This eventually implies a scaling operation that could occur infinitely. Sizes and scales of spaces and objects are inherently connected to their functionality and identity. So it is an important factor for interpreting elements in our field of perception. In “Recursive Volumes” the objects were eventually fired inside the built space. Its inside volume functioned as an embracing and insulating shell for the fire to take place. The firing is a performative, ritualistic act. After the burning process is over, the clay objects are fire hardened, but also the clay space itself is transformed into a ceramic substance.

Recursive Volumes (video stills)

Atelier Calder, France, 2018

‘Intruder (stretched cube)’ activates the height and vastness of the historic hall. Independent of the museum visitors’ gaze, it floats in the air, moving in all directions and suddenly reemerges like an intruder. With a contorted shape, it is an anamorphosis that from certain angles appears to be a cube. In changing positions and elevations during its flight, the cube is continually visible. ‘Intruder (stretched cube)’ plays with perspective and perception, asking us to question what it is that we see. The abstract geometric form suggests an ‘unidentified flying object’. The presence of an object that cannot be immediately identified in our daily reality makes us question the immediacy and understanding we might have about the things that surround us.

Intruder (Stretched Cube)

Festival of Furure Nows, Hamburger Bahnhof, Museum für Gegenwart Berlin, 2017

‘Baelo Claudia’ explores how an object relates to the foundation of all landscape: the ground and the sky. A 45 meter long balloon was specifically fabricated for a performative experiment at the archeological site of Baelo Claudia in Spain where the balloon was subsequently released into the sky. From then on, the sculpture appeared abstract in mid-air, no longer related to a specific context on earth. In the air, the sky acted like a blank, or blue, canvas. Moreover, helium gradually expands at higher altitudes, causing the shape of the work to transform from soft to linear geometry. This concluding act transformed into a dynamic abstract image, in which it was difficult to determine whether the object was tiny or enormous.

Baelo Claudia (video stills)

Performance, Cadiz, Spain, 2017

The concept for ‘Floating Identity’ originated from Horst tower, a landmark located in Holsbeek, Belgium. The octagonal top of this iconic structure is based on a prism with pyramid base. The visual importance of this architectural element is dependent on repetition of geometry, revealed through its non-static or floating identity. The position and appearance of the work, however performative, and in a state of perpetual motion, facilitates its stance with the static reality of its inspiration: Horst tower, itself, and thereby, creates an experimental dynamic.

Floating Identity

Horst Arts & Music Festival, Belgium, 2016

‘Bumbu’ evolved through a participatory, collaborative process with local craftswomen in Sinthian, Senegal. A series of ceramic objects was jointly created. Segments of each object were partly made by the women and partly by the artist; thus each object has more than one creator. The word ‘bumbu’ means the “beginning” or “foundation” of a pot, often the bottom part, which is produced by use of a mould. The ceramic series was initiated by the artist, introducing geometrical forms form her artistic repertoire. In the video the geometrical, modular forms of the moulded “foundation” parts made by the artist contrast with the craftwomen’s traditional forms and techniques, yet inspire the new objects that evolve throughout the dialogical work process.
The artist reflects: “Through the intensive collaboration process, we were actively involved with each other’s working habits and techniques. I could get a sense of various aspects during the making of the series. The video bumbu shows the making of: from collecting materials in nature, such as earth, grass, dung, to processing the materials and shaping the objects. Towards the end of the film the younger generations appear more prominently in sequences that confront the previous framing of the traditional culture and crafts with digital media imagery that introduce another perspective to the present and the future of the rituals and life in the village’s culture.”

Bumbu

Thread, Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, Senegal, 2016

‘Burning Mass’ consists of the remains of a modular brick sculpture and a film following the making of it, as a vast site-specific sculpture in its original, natural environment.
Intended to be monumental in scale, the sculpture ‘Burning Mass’ consists of more than a thousand massive handmade clay components, which were burned in the landscape through the traditional method of the brick clamp. The inner remains of ‘burning mass (blocks)’ were joined together because of the extreme heat during the burning process.
The film ‘Burning Mass’ focuses attention on the act of creating the brick components and the process through which knowledge of their core substance and mass is gained. Going beyond documentation, the film is meant to be a starting point and conduit for interrelating human construction and nature in a broader sense. By showing the process, the narrative questions the past and future of these tactile actions of creation and examines our gradual social alienation from ritualistic traditions.

Burning Mass (Blocks)

Aalst, Belgium, 2016

‘Obtrusive Object (Viridis)’ and ‘Obtrusive Object (Transitional Indigo)’ are made of solidified olive-oil and dye. Its specific substance is hard to recognize when perceiving the object, which adds to the objects’ abstract nature.

Obtrusive Object (Viridis and transitional indigo)

Extra City, Antwerp, Belgium, 2015

The video 'Fire Pit (Blocks)' shows the firing process of blocks through the traditional method of a fire pit. A hole is dug, filled with sawdust and within it the objects are placed to be fired during the course of a night. During the firing process a humming/singing performance took place around midnight. The live sound recording of this performative act is included in the sound sequence of the video.

Fire Pit (Blocks)

Gantrisch, Switzerland, 2015

‘Stretched Cube (Spast) consists of a two-metre tall object comprised of six aluminium plates that can be assembled and disassembled and then stored in a custom-built backpack. On account of its easy portability, 'Stretched Cube (Spast) has a fundamentally improvisational nature, reacting to any context and all spatial situations.
The physical and formal properties of stretched cube (spast) allow the work to be interpreted as a three-dimensional anamorphosis of a true cube; from a certain perspective, the viewer perceives the work as if it all its angles were 90°. By determining the context in which the object is exhibited, the curator controls whether the viewer can access this idealised cube or sees only the stretched one.
For this occasion, the work is installed on the roof of the Neue Nationalgalerie. From a standpoint directly in front of the museum’s entrance, the work appears as a cube. As viewers deviate from this perspective, the actual, physical shape of the stretched cube is revealed.

Stretched Cube (Spast)

Future Nows, Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin, 2014, Museum M, Leuven, Belgium, 2012

In 'Complementary Volumes', the dimensions of two spatial components are determined by one another’s presence. A large, opaque object is supported by a frame surrounding it, and the volume of the frame is in turn dependent on and defined by the presence of the inside shape. Thus, both components balance each other in a tension that is immediately palpable to the visitor.

Complementary Volumes

Grey Sheep, Berlin, 2014

The roof of the Neue Nationalgalerie is supported solely by eight columns around its perimeter. This design allows for a structure whose enormous interior space is nearly entirely open. plan 2: octagonal prisms – reconstructing a column reacts against this spatial arrangement by erecting a column within the museum’s interior. The work, which is lightweight and movable, consists of thin brass bars and metal cables arranged in a system of tensional integrity – or “tensegrity” as it was named by Buckminster Fuller. Tension between the elements balances the bars and the cables, giving volume to the structure and allowing plan 2: octagonal prisms – reconstructing a column to take form. Performative as well as sculptural, the work is repeatedly de- and reconstructed during the course of the exhibition, each time being moved around within the space. Nearly touching the ceiling, the object articulates and makes explicit the scale of the Neue Nationalgalerie’s massive open space.

plan 2: octagonal prisms - reconstructing a column

Future Nows, Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin, 2014

'Reflected Directions (Labyrinth)' is a walkable floor labyrinth in the main lobby of the North Station. The labyrinth has the shape of a compass needle tip which exactly points to a large compass rose on the wall of the same hall symbolising orientation. The labyrinth in contrast, requires a complex path. This reflects the tension between the intentions and expectations of travelers on the one hand, and the complicated tangle of railway station architecture and railway infrastructure on the other hand; basically, two different orientation logics. The shape of the labyrinth is based on a grid with two directions: that of the actual North-South connection, from station to station, and that of the north and south wind directions. The direction of the winds is shown as a continuous line, while the direction between the stations is determined by the beginning and end of the maze. By integrating the directions into the work an locating symmetrically the main station hall on it, the visitor is able to orient himself in a larger context.

Reflected Directions (Labyrinth)

Passages, North Station, Brussels, 2013

The work 'plan 4(1) (scale 1:2) – pigeon tower lo' is located in the city of Lo, next to Lo’s existing pigeon tower. Around the city of Lo many buildings have been rebuilt after being destroyed during World War I. 'plan 4(1) (scale 1:2) – pigeon tower lo' reflects the idea of reconstruction and originality through its built form as a new pigeon tower. The measurements of the octagonal ground plan of the work are equal to the interior diameter/plan of the existing pigeon tower. The grid of 'plan 4(1) (scale 1:2) – pigeon tower lo' is based on the interior of the existing pigeon tower which is divided into compartments where the pigeons nest. The work consists of wooden planks treated with a green protective coating that fades away over time. The grid is constructed with planks that are solely connected by half lap joints to create a self-supporting structure. 'plan 4(1) (scale 1:2) – pigeon tower lo' is made in collaboration with Roberto Aparicio Ronda.

plan 4(1) (scale 1:2) - pigeon tower Lo

Lo-Reninge, Belgium, 2012
in collaboration with Roberto Aparicio Ronda

'plan 4(4): (scale 1:5)' is a site-specific work made in collaboration with architect Roberto Aparicio Ronda. The work consists of about 8 tons of loam, a special type of earth. The material was first delivered and brought inside the exhibition space. The earth was rammed together into four layers on top of one another. The work is a positive volume that contains the negative volume of an octagonal prism, with a diameter of 2 meters. The positive volume is determined by the specific geometry of the exhibition space with its arcs and columns. Certain architectural elements are included in the work.

plan 4(4) (scale 1:5)

Ghent, Belgium, 2011

'plan 4(1): 27 units (scale 1:200)' is comprised of 27 pieces of talc stone. An entire 1,8 ton block of talc stone with a diameter of approximately one meter was cut into parts according to a three-dimensional cubic grid that constitutes three times three sections. Subsequently, the middle unit is a perfect cube and all 26 matching parts reveal material irregularities. Talc stone is an extremely soft and fragile stone, yet it’s weight is heavier then the average weight of natural stones.
The work 'plan 4(3): 24 units (scale 1: 70)' is cut out of green marble. 24 slices are placed on top of each other. The marble is cut as thin as possible according to its material properties. 'plan 4(3): 12 units' shows framgents of 'plan 4(3): 24 units (scale 1: 70)' in a larger scale through 12 multiplex objects.

plan 4(1): 27 units (scale 1: 200)

Bortier Gallery, Brussels, 2010

‘If an object is made with an unclear intention concerning its content, people might see nothing - or they see buildings, animals, objects from outer space (the future), temples (the past), small daily objects ... in it. In the work 'Mäntsälä [video]' the participants of the project Mäntsälä speak about their ideas about the meaning of the object that was made together. The sculpture had been dug out of the earth in seven stages: in each stage a certain amount of earth was removed. The sculpture measures 150 cm x 300 cm x 400 cm. Its shape at excavation on 31st of May 2008, constitutes the first form in the continuity of plans and shapes.

Mäntsälä (27th of April, 4th of May, 25th of May, 31st of May 2008)

Finland, 2008