Untitled (12 parts)

About this artwork.

In the gates between Deliplein and Atjehstaat, twelve paintings hang. These twelve panels can be divided into four series of three. Taken together they tell a story of time. 

The first series depicts knights, pigs and medieval fools. Wiersema has taken these droll figments of his imagination in an attempt to recall the dream world of his earliest youth. The paintings also tie in with the earliest beginnings of the Deliplein, which was like a fortress in the meadows, when built in 1918, quite a distance from the rest of the city. 

In the second series, Wiersema tells the history of the city of Groningen across three large panels. The carousing pigs have turned into snorting horses; a reference to the once illustrious horse trials held in the city. The other two panels show some of the city’s monuments: the Herepoort, painted in pink and green, and – against an evening red background – the towers of the Martini Church, the Academy Building and the Der Aakerk. 

In the third series, the red of evening takes on a new meaning. In deep shades of red, the artist takes the viewer into his own life. In doing so, he chooses three things that say something about himself. The silhouette of the young woman represents his lover. As a young adult, she looks down at the world, seeking to rise above it. Then we have the bicycle, which refers to the ‘artificial bicycle’ from another of Wiersema’s projects, and the snapped white flag shows the logo of Galerie Forma Aktua, of which Wiersema was a board member for a number of years.

Finally, the fourth series consists of three abstract representations. Letting go of figuration, Wiersema imagines that the time of youth and youthful hubris is over. The series begins with a strict constructivist work: there is a new clarity, man has determined his place in the world. In the second work, however, the strictly geometric forms are broken apart. Planes and lines are less taut; the fixed world view does not seem tenable. The ladder in the painting – the Jacob’s Ladder – depicts the possibility of ascending to a new consciousness. The last painting of this series is of a starry sky. It's over, but it's not an end. The dark blue colour is that of the first night, the time of dreams. The end is also a new beginning.

Facts & Figures.

• Design
  Kees Wiersema

• District
  Korrewegwijk & De Hoogte

• Year of creation
  2006

• Art type
  Art in / on a building

• Material
  Paint