Thingly Character VIII, figure 5

The title Thingly Character refers to a passage in Martin Heidegger’s essay The Origin of the Work of Art (1935-1960). Helen Verhoeven was inspired by this essay when she questioned the difference between object and art, and the relationship between things and their representation, between sculpture and painting, and even between people and statues.

The painting presents an overwhelming yet fragmented total picture. Its execution in black, white and grey reinforces the cinematic quality of the scenes. The scenery behind this tableau is an imaginative collage of interior fragments from various public places. The viewer’s gaze is constantly in motion, he even has to move around in order to experience the whole picture. It is as if you are looking at a stage, or maybe even as if you are standing on stage yourself and looking at the audience. The painting becomes another reality, in which you can disappear for a moment as a viewer. The people in this painting appear to be keeping silence; a silence that is pregnant or almost threatening. They are standing side by side as if they have nothing to do with one another: a face without expression, actions that remain vague and a ceremony that has just taken place.

The sculptures are based on characters from the painting. They are not identical to those in the painting, but often variations on the same theme, as if they are versions of certain statues of saints or icons, of which countless other versions can exist. They can also be interpreted as portrait busts or statues.