The Singeorz-Bai 2002 International Sculpture Symposium

Four works + a performance by Sonja van Kerkhoff

Overview of three of Sonja's works the Singeorz-Bai International Sculpture Symposium, August 2002.
Left to Right: Certain Measures (four engraved sticks on the table), Tulips from Istanbul (five resin tulip-forms hanging in the tree, With fire we test the gold and with gold we test our servants
(obelisque-like wooden form made during the symposium)

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With fire we test the gold and with gold we test our servants

by Sonja van Kerkhoff, 2002

A larger view (52 kb).

Wood and acrylic paint, gold leaf and vanish painted on the inner surfaces.

In the Singeorz-Bai Sculpture Symposium, August 2002.

Right: detail showing the inner surfaces
which were painted in a gradation from red to gold.
Collection of the Muzeul de Artă Comparată Sångeorz-Băi (Museé d'art compare/Museum of contemporary art), Singeorz-Bai, Romania.

"With fire we test the gold and with gold we test Our servants" is an obelisque-like form whose outer planes have been sanded smooth, while the deep groves show cut marks. These grooves descend into the heart of the tree, gradually changing from red to gold. The gold haze is only just perceptable if you peer inside. The title comes from the "Hidden Words" a book of wisdom sayings by Baha'u'llah, founder of the Baha'i Faith.

Other work shown or made at the same location

A Rite of Passage, performance, 2002.
Certain Measures, variation in Romanian, engraved and painted wooden rods, 1993 - 2002.
Tulips from Istanbul, just five were hung here, 1997 - 2002.
Wrapping for a Marginal Citizen, 1994.

Outdoor works

Fruit, six hang cast resin forms, 2006.
Nga Hau e Wha (The Four Winds/Breaths), metal sculpture, 2004.
Generating Plant, custom-made birdhouse form, 2004.
The Wedding, intervention/installation during the 9 Dragonheads festival, 2004.
Inland Soul at Sea, 19 hanging forms, 2003.
Colonising Oxford, performances and installations on the streets, 2002.
Fruits of the Earth, installation/intervention, 2003.
With fire we test the gold and with gold we test our servants, wooden sculpture at a Sculpture Symposium in a park in Northern Romania, 2003.
Parking Spaces for Important Visitors, relief painted panels, 2001.
Inspiration, paintings on shaped canvas laid on the floor, 2001.
Just pour les oiseaux (Strictly for the birds), installations and performances during a walk through a forest setting led by a guide, 2001.
Onder vier ogen (Between you and me) , mask-forms hung on trees, with texts and images in the orifices, 2001.
Dans le jardin des beaux arts, 19 snail forms, (in various locations), 2000-2006.
The Living Creature, performances in a rose garden in a public park in London, 1999.
Change is a Law of Nature, 1996, performances on the streets, in Hull and London, U.K. (repeated in other locations in 2001, 2002, and 2004).
Memorials, ceramic tiles laid into the earth, 1996-2001.
Te Koru Iwa, fire drawing at the Oerol Arts Festival, The Netherlands, 1996.
Letters van de Levende :: Letters of the Living, 19 batiked flags, 1996.

the medium

c.v.
last things first