Barbara Wildenboer South Africa, 1973

Présentation

Barbara Wildenboer investigates the philosophical concept of aesthetics through a range of different mediums and processes. By exploring this concept alongside phenomena such as temporality, fractal geometry, and the interconnectedness of all living things, she exposes the connections between a myriad of life forms – from the microscopic to the immense.

 

Wildenboer’s primary focus is on environmental aesthetics, which she sees as encompassing both natural territories and human interaction with the natural realm. Her work is also concerned with the idea of the mathematical sublime (an aesthetical notion first developed by Immanuel Kant) and how the infinity and boundlessness of the universe transcend the limits of reason.

 

Wildenboer uses a combination of analogue and digital processes to produce a diverse and rich body of work that primarily consists of collages, photo- and paper constructions, installations, digitally animated photographic sculptures, and book art. 

 

Her recent body of work entitled "LOOT" is informed by a growing interest in how meaning is created and shaped by the encounter between Africa and Europe. The artist uses ‘appropriation’ to explore ideas around this. The use of appropriation is on the one side a reference to looted artifacts that have been expropriated from their origins but also to the manner in which Wildenboer usually engages with her medium (altered books and found images for collage), which has always involved appropriating different texts and reconfiguring them in some way. 

 

For the last years, she has sourced several images of various ancient artifacts originating from places such as Africa, Oceania, Ancient Greece, Mesopotamia, and the Americas and currently held in several different museums in Britain, Germany, France, and the U.S. She used these images to create what resembles ladders, totem poles, trees, or towers, consisting of assimilation of different relics, fertility figures, masks, vases, and architecture. 

 

These paper artifacts are curated and displayed to mimic the Western Museum in a manner that is idiosyncratic and absurd and is meant to draw attention to the multiple ways these objects could be viewed. The collaged paper sculptures echo how archaeological exhibitions are curated, placed on pedestals or in vitrines, and then spotlit to create the aura of an artwork that is far removed from the original functions of the objects being displayed. The result is some kind of documentary fiction / fictional documentary that references real things but becomes something else.

Œuvres
  • An Encyclopaedia of World History
    Barbara Wildenboer
    An Encyclopaedia of World History, 2021
    Hand-cut altered book
    56 x 62 x 6 cm
  • An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
    Barbara Wildenboer
    An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, 2022
    Hand-cut altered book
    40 x 52 x 6 cm
  • Classical Dictionary
    Barbara Wildenboer
    Classical Dictionary, 2022
    Hand-cut altered book
    42 x 50 x 6 cm
  • Faust
    Barbara Wildenboer
    Faust, 2022
    Hand-cut altered book
    40 x 45 x 6 cm
  • Growth and Differentiation I
    Barbara Wildenboer
    Growth and Differentiation I , 2020
    Hand-cut paper sculpture
    103 x 103 x 6 cm
  • History of the Worlds Art
    Barbara Wildenboer
    History of the Worlds Art, 2022
    Hand-cut altered book
    50 x 65 x 6 cm
  • On the Philosophy of History
    Barbara Wildenboer
    On the Philosophy of History, 2022
    Hand-cut altered book
    48 x 56 x 6 cm
  • Provenance I
    Barbara Wildenboer
    Provenance I, 2022
    Hand-cut sculptural collage
    180 x 120 x 6 cm
  • Provenance II
    Barbara Wildenboer
    Provenance II, 2022
    Hand-cut sculptural collage
    180 x 120 x 6 cm
  • Social Anthropology
    Barbara Wildenboer
    Social Anthropology, 2022
    Hand-cut altered book
    45 x 50 x 6 cm
  • Spoils of War II
    Barbara Wildenboer
    Spoils of War II, 2021
    Paper-construction
    239 x 50 x 5 cm
  • Spoils of War III
    Barbara Wildenboer
    Spoils of War III, 2021
    Paper-construction
    239 x 50 x 5 cm
  • Spoils of War IV
    Barbara Wildenboer
    Spoils of War IV, 2021
    Paper-construction
    239 x 50 x 5 cm
  • Spoils of War V
    Barbara Wildenboer
    Spoils of War V, 2021
    Paper-construction
    239 x 50 x 5 cm
  • The Caryatids II
    Barbara Wildenboer
    The Caryatids II, 2021
    Hand-cut analogue collage on Fabriano
    74 x 54 x 5 cm
  • The Caryatids IV
    Barbara Wildenboer
    The Caryatids IV, 2021
    Hand-cut analogue collage on Fabriano
    74 x 54 x 5 cm
  • The Caryatids V
    Barbara Wildenboer
    The Caryatids V, 2021
    Hand-cut analogue collage on Fabriano
    74 x 54 x 5 cm
  • The Caryatids VI
    Barbara Wildenboer
    The Caryatids VI, 2021
    Hand-cut analogue collage on Fabriano
    74 x 54 x 5 cm
Expositions
Foires
Presse
Vidéo
Catalogues
Evénements
Store
  • Provenance I
    Barbara Wildenboer
    Provenance I, 2022
    Hand-cut sculptural collage
    180 x 120 x 6 cm
  • Provenance II
    Barbara Wildenboer
    Provenance II, 2022
    Hand-cut sculptural collage
    180 x 120 x 6 cm
  • Spoils of War II
    Barbara Wildenboer
    Spoils of War II, 2021
    Paper-construction
    239 x 50 x 5 cm
  • Spoils of War III
    Barbara Wildenboer
    Spoils of War III, 2021
    Paper-construction
    239 x 50 x 5 cm
  • Spoils of War IV
    Barbara Wildenboer
    Spoils of War IV, 2021
    Paper-construction
    239 x 50 x 5 cm
  • Spoils of War V
    Barbara Wildenboer
    Spoils of War V, 2021
    Paper-construction
    239 x 50 x 5 cm
  • The Caryatids II
    Barbara Wildenboer
    The Caryatids II, 2021
    Hand-cut analogue collage on Fabriano
    74 x 54 x 5 cm
  • The Caryatids IV
    Barbara Wildenboer
    The Caryatids IV, 2021
    Hand-cut analogue collage on Fabriano
    74 x 54 x 5 cm
  • The Caryatids V
    Barbara Wildenboer
    The Caryatids V, 2021
    Hand-cut analogue collage on Fabriano
    74 x 54 x 5 cm
  • The Caryatids VI
    Barbara Wildenboer
    The Caryatids VI, 2021
    Hand-cut analogue collage on Fabriano
    74 x 54 x 5 cm