Artwork Data

Title

Wachters

Artist

Berry Holslag

Year

1988

Material

beton en keramiek

Dimensions

600 cm

Artwork Location

Address

Loosduinseweg, Den Haag

City district

Segbroek

GPS data

52.0725469889314, 4.28946306519611 View on map

Artwork Description

Text

Sometimes, visual art can seem very understandable, recognisable and obvious, but there is usually more to it than meets the eye. An example is the man and woman sitting on two metres high columns in front of the entrance to an apartment building on Loosduinseweg.

At first glance, they appear to be two ordinary people. She has turned her head away from the block of flats and is watching the movements on the street intently. He seems less interested in the street scene and looks at her. The posture of both is loose. He leans with one arm on a raised leg and she lets her lower legs dangle in a relaxed manner. The man is wearing a blue suit and the woman is dressed in a red suit with a matching top hat that is just a bit too ludicrous.
It looks like a casual pose of two people who are just being themselves. Yet something is not right. The man and woman are sitting on metre-high columns that they will never be able to get down without help. The fire brigade will have to step in or helpful neighbours will have to free the two from their untenable position with a ladder.

The situation is particularly curious because nothing in the husband and wife's body language suggests panic, as if they are so absorbed in their togetherness that they are unaware of their plight. But there is something else strange going on. No matter how close they appear to be, there is an enormous gulf between the man and the woman that cannot be bridged without injuries or broken bones. This strange field of tension is characteristic for the art of Berry Holslag. In all her colourful and large ceramic sculptures she depicts people in their daily lives. Through alienation she makes you think about that.

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