The continuously expanding space...  

(The top level)
Installation on 3 levels in an old archival building, The Hague, 1999

A collaboration between Jacqueline Wassen, Gaudi Hoedaya,
Sen McGlinn and Sonja van Kerkhoff.


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Our installation began at the top level of an old archival building.
A text, set into the frieze-pattern about 3 metres up the wall, encircled the perimeter of the space.

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This text:

De zich onophoudelijk uitbreidende ruimte,
ontstaat door de ervaring zichzelf waargenomen te hebben.

(The continuously expanding space generated by the experience
of having perceived onself.)

created a horizontal line around the space.
The words and letters were broken up to fit onto the blocks in the wall.

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The frieze text served as a starting-point -the tangible word- and as a point of departure.

The text was broken in to individual letters, with images between some - reflecting various aspects of our worlds: like windows of the here and now as much as the remembered and the imagined. These images also literally stretched out the words to form a continuous loop.


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Detail of the frieze: The word "zich" (yourself/oneself) is interrupted by the image (by Jacqueline)
shown on the right.

Jacquline´s images were of herself as a child relocated in evocative spaces.
They suggested dream-worlds of the past -like openings for alternative routes of thought between the texts.


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Three photo-montages inserted between the letters by Jacqueline.


Sonja´s images were of her children engaged in ´natural-cum-artifical´ acts. The combinations of sensuality and oddity were immediate and close. The world today.
The detail, recognized as such implies more.


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Three photo-montages inserted between the letters by Sonja.


Gaudi´s images were of his own and extended family. The living and dead, remembered.

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Detail of the freize with photo-montages (by Gaudi) inserted between the letters.

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Two large mirrors on opposite sides of the space created an illusionary infinitely reflected space.

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In this grid-like space we wanted to create a sense of a psychological space that not only bridged the cut-up spaces of this remarkable building but also related to our essentially transcendent natures. The mirrors opened up the spaces within/beyond us like an extra dimension.


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Sen wanted mirrors at this level to push out the space and in combination with the text and images, to create a sense of self-awareness developed from reflection, memory and the spirit. The illusionary spaces were more than just a trompe l'oeil (trick of the eye), they created a sense of changing dimensions that went beyond the material.

detail of the installation



The continuously expanding space...
Installation on the three top floors of an old archival building