Artwork Data

Title

Reflection

Artist

Fernando Sanchez Castillo

Year

2018

Material

Brons

Artwork Location

Address

Johan de Wittlaan, Den Haag

City district

Scheveningen

GPS data

52.093589865733, 4.2851159008026 View on map

Artwork Description

Text

Who does not know the impressive image of an almost naked man sitting on a boulder thinking. Hunched over, the chin leaning a hand, the elbow resting on a knee. The imposing sculpture of the Thinker is by 19th-century French sculptor August Rodin and enjoys worldwide fame. Since 2018, it looks like an additional copy of it has been cast and placed in front of Eurojust's entrance. Seems. Because if you look closely, you can see that here sits not a man but a woman.

Eurojust, the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Coorporation founded in 2002, moved into a brand new home in the International Zone in The Hague in 2018. On the occasion of the new building, the Dutch government donated a gift in the form of a work of art. Spanish artist Fernando Sanchez Castillo was commissioned for this. After art school in Madrid, he studied at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam. Since then, he has regularly done projects in the Netherlands. Well-known projects include his Spitting Leaders for Sonsbeek 2004 and his Tankman in Utrecht in 2014.

Typically, Sanchez Castillo's work explores what art can contribute to history and the images surrounding it. His artworks raise questions about statues and the power they represent. For example, he bought the yacht of Spanish dictator Franco, sawed it into pieces, flattened it and turned it into an impressive installation of geometric forms. He often pays tribute to anonymous people who constructively question power or provide critical commentary on history.

As the title suggests, his sculpture at Eurojust primarily depicts the reflection that is much needed for the work this organization does. With a wink, moreover, it raises the question of why all those statues always have to be men. Why not a woman?

Close