Wading Through, 1996



Italian marble, two parts; stone I 72cm x 61cm x 29,5cm; stone II 112cm x 35,5cm x 28cm

 Wading through a medium involves a certain resistance that you have to surpass in order to proceed. It involves a reflection on the simple act of walking, influenced by a difficulty and labor while moving. Wading through something generally means stepping through a covering layer on the earth, which is usually connected to something wet, watery, muddy.

The two oversized pebblestone-like forms of the piece are marked by a line, indicating a level above ground that would cover the viewer's feet up to the ankle.

Encountering the work you are lead to move around the pieces that are facing each other over a distance of almost three meters. The stones appear to be soft and smooth from a distance, but when approaching them, they reveal a surface covered with marks and scratches. Whole parts seem to be torn away at the edges, seem to be washed out with the flow of time. The objects remind of familiar pebblestones, but in their size in between object and material they could be bone or wood or shell or stone...

Important is the movement during an encounter. The object form an "inside", which may be entered by the viewer. Once included in the presence of the work, one is asked to investigate the own person as a third element, being involved in an open dialogue, tempted to slow down the pace of the walk, wading consciously through a defined space.

» see also "Tying Line"