/A
catalogue “To those who belongs the earth...”
//MAAIKE BAKKER 70° 40′ 15.17″ N, 70° 8′ 12.19″ E
Figure 1 (2008) 2
//MAAIKE BAKKER
“to those who belongs the earth shall belongs the skies upto the heavens”.
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Maaike Bakker 2008 Š (all artworks & text by Maaike Bakker) 4
//TO THOSE WHO BELONGS THE EARTH SHALL BELONG THE SKY, UPTO THE HEAVENS...
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Figure 2. 216 Breaths remaining... (2008) 6
contents: 1.//ESSAY
“To those who belongs the Earth...”
I.
Unchartered skyscapes
pg.8
II.
Overview of body of work
pg.9
III.
Conclusion
pg.10
2.//ARTWORKS:
documentation of presented body of work
pg.2-31
3.//BIBLIOGRAPHY:
sources listed
pg.32
4.//CURRICULUM VITAE:
artist’s cv
pg.32
5. //LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS:
artworks listed
pg.33
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/Unchartered skyscapes “Cuius est solum, eius est usque ad caelum et ad inferos “ (To those who belongs the earth, shall belong the sky upto the heavens)
The presented body of work ,“To those who belongs the earth..(shall belong the sky upto the heavens)”, which is derived from a rough translation from the old roman legal principle “Cuius est solum, eius est usque ad caelum et ad inferos “ dealing with the ownership of air and the
Figure 3. (2008)
assigning of air rights.The body of work is directed at addressing , and simultaneously satirizing the rapid course of societies progress in terms of spatial development. The artworks engage with the idea of a continuous search for unchartered territory and expansion within a post-colonial context. The need for space to enable further development is becoming an urgency, therefore calling for undefined, intangible landscapes. Space has become a luxury, as no land remains to be claimed. Every open space is claimed for further development of living space due to the excessive population increase, calling for further entertainment centres and most importantly for the development of further office space in order to meet our markets demands, assuring our society’s “eternal kingdom”. Thus, in regard to inhabitable space, progress has arrived at a new climax, now demanding the claim of intangible landscapes. Figure 4. (2008)
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/Overview of body of work.
These artworks do not only address the theme of limited space, but also expose our humancentric nature through the depiction of hybrid astronaut-colonizers, claiming their new intangible landscapes. Sky monuments are being erected and future settlements are being developed, demonstrating that the claiming of the “sky” has begun. These narratives scenes are presented in conjunction with an installation , forming the main part of the work .This artwork consists of numerous layers of airboxes, , serving as a future air blueprint, designating areas in the sky that have been modified into architectural airspace. The projection
Figure 5. (2008)
completing the installation features video projections consisting of lomography photographs of sky scenery and air co-ordinates of extreme points and places titles “end of world”. This projection is interjected by the grid structure achieved by the layered “airboxes”. The small frames, showing close up scenes of the procession in the sky, or merely figures in certain poses on their claimed clouds are accompanied by air address plates, connecting the depicted scene to the sky location through the joining of the images to the air address pods. Other featured works include “216 breaths remaining”, “Ersatzluft”,”sky blueprint” and “A Bout De Souffle pt.I &pt.II”. These more closely engage with the direct commodification of air, and the concept of demarcating the intangible. These works feature co-ordinates of air from extreme points of the earth, and thus assume the idea of society trapping the “unobtainable”, thereby establishing a sky utopia, and investigates the theme of “owning” intangible resources more closely. Figure 6. (2008)
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Conclusion// “To those who belongs the earth” is therefore geared towards introducing a slightly humourus, yet simultaneously sincere view of what could be seen as an elaborate outlook of where our ever progressing society is heading to. The work thus aspires to ridicule our societies utopian drive for attempting to assure tomorrows future, yet at the same time aims to present the situation in a sceptical manner by showing how western society is at once the beneficiary and the victim of its own culture (Huxley, 2002)¹.
Figure 7. Air suburb #218 detail (2008) 10
59°7′16″N 10°23′57″E (8521m)-(Tjøme -Verdens Ende)
Figure 8. The Great Trek II/ The sky’s the ground, the bombs are plants, and we’re the sun Adhesive vinyl on architecture paper
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Figure 9. Air suburb #218 (installation without projection) (2008) styrofoam, corrugated cardboard, tracing paper, vinyl
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Figure 10. +Figure 11.- Air Suburb #219 (2008) detail
Figure 12. Air Map (2008) styroplastic, cardboard, plastic,enamel
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Figure 13. Air Map (detail) (2008) 15
Figure 14.-16. Video projection stills (2008) lomography photos + digital manipulation
83° 6’′ 0”″ S, 54° 58’′ 0”″ E
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(8848m) -(Sagarmatha-“head of the sky”)
70° 40’′ 15.17”″ N, 70° 8’′ 12.19”″ E (2180m)-(Yamal Peninsula-transl.”End of World”)
Figure 17.-19. Video projection stills (2008) lomography photos +digital manipulation
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Figure 20. Horses in the sky (Horse monument) (2008) vinyl on plasic and bubble wrap
Figure 21. - detail (2008)
50° 4’′ 7”″ N, 5° 42’′ 58”″ W 18
(5230m) -(Land’s End)
Figure 21-23. Soundbox-”A Bout de Suffle” (2008) plastic tube on perspex with sound
63°23′S, 57°00′W (425m) -(northernmost extremity of Antarctica) 19
Figure 24-25.
Ersatzluft detail (size) (2008)
Figure 26. Ersatzluft (2008) pvc plastic, styroplastic and adhesive vinyl
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Figure 28. Airbox Blueprint/D.I.Y Airbox (Verdens Ende) (2008) styroplastic, perspex
Figure 27. Airbox Blueprint /D.I.Y Airbox (Lands End) (2008) styroplastic, perspex
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Figure 29-31. detail of “re-arranging the skyline� (2008) adhesive vinyl on pvc plastic film
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Figure 32. “Wolkenfänger” (2008) digital illustration
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Figure 33.
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co-ordinates detail (2008)
Figure 34. 216 Breaths remaining...(not packaged) (2008)
Figure 35. 216 Breaths remaining...straws and adhesive vinyl packaged (2008) 27
Figure 36. Gathering Air (2008) adhesive vinyl on styrofoam
Facing page: Figure 37. Sky Colonizers detail-(2008) adhesive vinyl on pvc plastic film
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Figure 38. Sky Colonizers-(2008) adhesive vinyl on pvc plastic film 29
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Facing page: Figure 39. Cloud Surveillance with address pod (2008) (adhesive vinyl on pvc plastiv film and perspex)
(digital process detail of “ Cloud Surbveillance�)
Figure 40. Monument and helium bottle on cloud (2008) adhesive vinyl on architectural paper (part of series)
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CV //curriculum vitae/ Full Name:
Date of Birth: Education:
Maaike Bakker 01 September 1986
Deutsche Schule Pretoria (1992-2004) UNISA BAFA (2005-2008)
Exhibitions: “Suburbia” group exhibition - “Sasol New Signatures” - “Inevitable” group exhibition- “Addictlab” group exhibition-
Platform on 18th (2005) Pretoria Art museum (2005) Moja modern (2007) Lister Medical Building (2007)
“Free for Charity-SA+UK “ drawing magazine/exhibition (amicollective) exhibited in:
Cape Town +London (2007)
Bibliography: -Huxley, A. 2002. The Island . London: Harper Collins. -
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List of Illustrations
Fig.1 Air Suburb #219 Detail Fig. 2 216 Breaths remaining... Fig. 3 workbook detail Fig. 4-”A Bout de Suffle” Fig. 5 Air Map (detail) Fig. 6 Video projection stills (lomography photos) Fig. 7 Air Suburb #219 Detail Fig. 8 The Great Trek II/ The sky’s the ground…Adhesive vinyl on architecture paper Fig. 9 Air suburb #218 (installation without projection) styrofoam, corrugated cardboard, tracing paper, vinyl Fig. 10.+ 11.- Air Suburb #219 Detail Fig. 12. Air Map styroplastic, cardboard, plastic,enamel Fig. 13 Air Map (detail) Fig. 14.-16. Video projection stills (lomography photos) Fig.17.-19. Video projection stills (lomography photos) Fig. 20. Horses in the sky (Horse monument) vinyl on plasic and bubble wrap Fig. 21. – detail Horses in the sky (Horse monument) Fig. 21-23. Soundbox-”A Bout de Suffle” plastic tubes on perspex with sound
Fig. 24-25. Ersatzluft detail (size) Fig. 26. Ersatzluft (inflatables of reserve air)-pvc plastic, styroplastic and adhesive vinyl Fig. 27. Airbox Blueprint /D.I.Y Airbox (Lands End)-styroplastic, Perspex Fig. 28. Airbox Blueprint/D.I.Y Airbox (Verdens Ende)-styroplastic, Perspex Fig. 29-31. detail of “re-arranging the skyline”-adhesive vinyl on pvc plastic Fig. 32. “Wolkenfänger” -digital illustration Fig. 33. co-ordinates detail Fig.34. 216 Breaths remaining...(not packaged) Fig.35. 216 Breaths remaining..-straws and adhesive vinyl packaged Fig. 36. Gathering Air -Sky Colonizers detail-adhesive vinyl on styrofoam Fig. 37. Sky Colonizers-adhesive vinyl on pvc plastic film Fig.38. Sky Colonizers detail-adhesive vinyl on pvc plastic film Fig. 39. Cloud Surveillance with address pod (adhesive vinyl on pvc plastiv film and perspex) Fig.40.Monument and helium bottle on cloud-adhesive vinyl on architectural paper (part of series)
© Maaike Bakker 2008 (maaikebakker00@gmail.com-) for more visuals: ( http://maaikebakker.blogspot.com/
- http://haveanicelifeillustrations.blogspot.com/)
catalogue designed by: photographic documentation of the artworks : catalogue printed by:
Maaike Bakker Maike Backeberg (welovepictures) Wet Ink 33
...shall belong its centre, upto the heavens!