FotoArtist

We are a bit stuck

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These 5 people are from Levi van’s family. One is his father Levi van Veluw, mother, brother and a sister. This room is more like a real-life installation with diameters of (4m x 2.5m x 2.5m). The family members as well as the area are covered with 20,000 dark brown wooden blocks and all this without any digital manipulation of any sort. When you look at the table, it looks like any other peaceful one. It gives an image of a picture-perfect family. To play games with your mind, these group figurines have been positioned in a very abstract environment. It is something that is unrecognisable and that does not belong to this world. The work has a very subtle note of dark in colour and dimly lit combination. It makes you want to get away from this place, as it’s very lonely. The room focuses your attention more to the dark notes and underlying uncomfortable ambience. Maximum usage of wooden blocks also symbolizes the need for Veluw to make attempts to gain position and control within the family sphere. Levi van Veluw's series "Origin of the Beginning consists of photographs, installations and videos in which he draws from his own childhood memories to thematically and narratively develop his own brand of self-portraiture. Portrayed in this piece is a room with 5 persons sitting at a table. These persons are Levi van Veluw, his father, mother, brother and sister. The room is executed as a life-size installation (4m x 2.5m x 2.5m) in which everything , including the family members themselves, is covered with 20.000 dark brown wooden blocks. (without any digital manipulation) At first glance everyone is sitting peacefully at the table, the picture of a perfect family unit. Yet this group of figures is positioned in an abstract environment, unrecognisable and therefore far removed from reality. Dimly light and dark in colour the overriding tone of this work is claustrophobic and sombre, exuding a sense of loneliness. The awkward silence and dark colour suggest uncomfortable underlying tensions and emotions.The endless repetition of wooden blocks stands for van Veluw’s attempts to gain control of his own position within the familial structure. photo info: Levi van Veluw Origin of the Beginning / Family 2012courtesy Galerie Ron Mandos

‘Origin of the beginning’ by dutch artist Levi van Veluw / photographs courtesy of Galerie Ron Mandos

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