SANCTUARY

JARIK JONGMAN, PAINTING NINE BUDDE, VIDEO DJ MIEKO, MUSIC SANCTUARY by Jarik Jongman The need for something bigger than ourselves In the beginning there is a vision. An image manifesting itself in the brain, slowly, insistently demanding to be realized, effectuated, made tangible into the world. The work that is subsequently created is in itself however of no importance. It carries no meaning. All meaning is formed within the viewer, the pattern maker that is man, according to his or her own state of being. To paraphrase Werner Heisenberg: what we observe is not reality itself, but reality exposed to our method of questioning There are many religious references to be found within my work but that is not to say my work is about religion or faith as such. What interests me is that all the rituals, actions and performances spring from the wish, the need, and ultimately the illusion that reality, life, can be influenced or controlled. It is this human tragedy that the work addresses; the failure to explain and control the world, and ourselves, whether through ritualistic magic or science. Simultaneously however, it is also a celebration of the human urge and capacity to seek, and find, solace in the inexplicable and the miraculous. More about sanctuary: The word sanctuary carries a double meaning as both holy place and shelter. Churches were built on places that were considered to have been sanctified by what happened there. Miracles, burial sites, and also martyrdom. However, the ecstasy of the burning martyr has taken on a new form in modern times. One work shows a group of people walking through a demolished church, invoking the image of 9/11 victims looking for shelter from the ashes. Here, the connection between the imagery and the idea of sanctuary becomes more poignant as there never exists any true shelter from adversity and disaster in life. Churches and holy places are destroyed along with everything else in times of war. In a strange shift of perception, when in New York the sanctum of capitalism was destroyed, it was done by people who consider themselves martyrs for their cause. And the sanctum which many consider Europe to be, with its hard-fought victory of Judeo-Christian values, some think is now being invaded and corroded by obscure and threatening hordes, the forces of darkness. On the other end of the spectrum from the holocaust that is the bio industry, the sanctuary is nowadays most effective as animal shelter and animals play a big part in this exhibition as well. Invoking thoughts and associations that take the viewer into the realm of the metaphysical. Without anthropomorphizing, and without actually having to experience a shamanistic trance, one can still see what it is they reflect about the world and ultimately about ourselves. Finally the idea of sanctuary can also refer to the museum or art space. Perhaps art is functioning in the same way as subject of reverence, reflection and meditation, often inciting the viewer to touch the works as if they were relics, to establish contact with the creator. The directors and curators of these institutions are the new high priests of this individualistic religion.

More about the artist

DATE: 18-12-2009 until 20-12-2009
LOCATION: KUNSTHALLE M3, MENGERZEILE 1-3, 12435 BERLIN-TREPTOW
CONTACT: email:info@atelierhaus-mengerzeile.de www.atelierhaus-mengerzeile.de www.kunsthalle-m3.de