Coming Home Willem van den Hoed
Upscaling of reality p 4
Frank van de Schoor
01 Mental space p 8 02 Light p 28 03 Vedute p 50 04 Graphic p 70 05 Illusionism p 86
Frank van de Schoor
Between reality and imagination p 106
Pim Hoff
Coming Willem
Home van den Hoed
8
01  Mental space
Mental space WVDH creates a mental space,
wildlife photography, exercising patience through
a space constructed on the basis of a global
the unavoidable waiting is essential to achieving the
orientation and numerous travel experiences. In the
desired result: the construction of a unique image
displayed space and the associated reflection on
in which all the observations and attributes are
the outside world, the key elements are the identity,
combined.
vision, and tangible personal presence of the artist. Between the home base and constantly being on the move lies a paradox. The desire to travel is motivated by the ambition to discover cities and regions, and to record them. This nomadic drive is certainly not always based on rational motives. Voyages of discovery stay hanging in the air unless they find their place in a permanent studio. Precious locations become part of your philosophical heritage. Spatial identity is a central theme. WVDH observes the relationships and atmosphere of the place: interior, exterior, and the glass between them. The softness of the furnishings, bed, sheets and interior light connects with the hardness of walls, window frames and the city life. You can see from the photos that he has truly found his place in the hotel room. The space is the biotope from which he observes and documents. He assiduously allows the ambiance and the fall of light to have their effect on him. Like a timeless shelter, the accommodation offers the space for patience and reflection. However, staying in the same room for a long time also affects your calm and balance. Why am I here? How long am I staying here? What do I expect here? A systematic approach is the only remedy if you want good results. As with
10
1101, 42 x 42 x 4 cm | Three-Seven-Stay, Seoul (2013)
observatory, 140 x 227 cm | Peninsula Bangkok (2015)
101, 124 x 227 cm | Hotel Stary, Cracow (2009)
4808 white, 120 x 222 cm | Scarlett’s room @ Park Hyatt Tokyo (2010)
1710, 25 x 45 x 4 cm | Mitsui Garden Hotel Ginza Premier, Tokyo (2010)
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03  Vedute
Vedute In WVDH’s photographic works, the view
Franz Kafka once perfectly expressed that contact
is optimal. There is a frame, which guides the eye
with the outside world, the longing for the unknown,
towards the distance and the horizon that the artist
is inevitable but at the same time unattainable:
presents to us. You are primarily a witness, a viewer
“K. wanted to sit, but now he saw that the entire
observing the outside world. The distant view is also
room had nowhere to sit except for the chair by the
the perfect enticement to drift away in your own
window.” WVDH writes a notable variation on this:
thoughts. Connections and associations manifest
“An airport limousine brought me to Samseon station
themselves between the complex outside world
in Gangnam. I had reserved my first room in the
and your own incoherent ponderings. Persistent
Park Hyatt. I had chosen the room for the modern
observation imposes order on vision and perception.
architecture and, above all, for the unusual, lopsided floor plan which offered extra vanishing points; a
Asiatic panoramas can often be seen; in the
real find for a dyed-in-the-wool perspectivist such
distance, in tower blocks and skyscrapers, you get
as myself. I dropped my holdall on a chair, went to
the impression of a great turbulence of people and
the window and looked out over the unfamiliar city.”
events. You feel drawn into it, but you are not part of
(Kimchi Beach)
it. From an isolated lighthouse the panorama is just as unending, but is oppressive rather than inviting. The rotating light lends a certain cadence, but it guides your view in a disquieting way. Dark banks of cloud and wide, grey waters keep you at a distance. By contrast, there is the appealing view across a bay or lagoon, like in Hong Kong and Venice, where the light falls softly to strikingly display the atmosphere of the water. There comes the temptation to actually go outside, to smell and feel the breeze, but once outside the magnificent view would be lost.
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609, 38 x 38 cm | Hampshire Hotel Delft (2011)
804, 135 x 180 cm | Hidden Bay Hotel, Yeosu, South-Korea (2015)
9499, 150 x 257 cm | Signiel, Seoul (2017)
10005, 156 x 242 x 6 cm | Tallink Silja Ferry Rostock - Helsinki (2011)
Waterstad #3, 120 x 247 cm | (2001-2008)
With his ingenious way of looking at things, Willem van den Hoed records special places all over the world: “I photograph what I want to see. Rooms, buildings, cities. I love situations created by the hand of man. I was trained as an architect. I am a builder. I make things, I manufacture realities.” “Willem van den Hoed came home after living in Korea for years, where he further developed his precise ‘Asianised’ architectural eye – he makes Asian architectural photographic monuments.” Piet Hein Eek