From the Aftermath sculptures, all including this cloak sculpture, are lost. Only the Book Sculpture I still have.

I had made the sculptures in 1990 when I was living in Roermond. I was just seventeen and I had left my parental home and was free for the first time. I could be by myself and heal, and these artworks almost naturally came into existence.

On the weekends I was alone in my new home because my fellow roommates left over the weekends. And then I was naturally creating bit by bit these sculptures. From parts and pieces (junk I had collected over the years), I built six sculptures, this book sculpture included.

Every sculpture I worked on many solitary hours in the common area of the flat. I could not stop and went on until it was dark and I was tired and hungry. I burned, melted, pasted, burned again, stuck, glued, sprayed, and melted some more.

Every single part was meticulously handled, burned, damaged, and connected to create unique single sculptures. When you look at the photographs you can find glasses, pipes, a used mikado set, lamp sockets, electric wires, pins, a pressure gauge, rods, pieces of leather, coil spring, burned photos of people, and much more.

Some parts might be unrecognizable and look useless. But they originally came from something complete, where they were part of something that initially functioned. Now they became something different, a unique item, changed forever. And part of an art piece, a sculpture. To perhaps let the viewer think of the aftermath in (their) life.

When I finished the initial five sculptures, I felt not yet fully ready. And I had some elements left. And I made a sixth sculpture, a book sculpture. Which I think is quite symbolic since we all carry our own unique stories. And I made a seventh sculpture, this cloak. We wear our own stories. So that all that you need and have learned and have processed is with you. These experiences are like a cloak to guide and protect you.

This artwork comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.

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