Arteles Catalogue 2023-2020

Write & Create program / OCTOBER 2022
Wouter van Kelle
Canada / Netherlands
woutervankelle.nl
About
In his life Wouter van Kelle is seeking out a balance.
Balancing different aspects of his life, where desire and
reality are seldom unilateral. He feeds this search by drawing
inspiration from the places he visits, mainly the vastness
and power that nature represents to him. The sum of these
two has shaped a fascination for the way different materials,
shapes and colours react to one another. Through which
he creates a delicate balance between pulling and pushing,
between overwhelming and intriguing.
Haukijärven Metsä
During his residency Wouter submerged himself fully in the
forest, paying attention to the smallest details and grandest
gestures she has to offer. The series of drawings he made
are annotations of the memories and beings from the forests
around the residency. On the last day of the residency
Wouter spent his day letting go of the process, research and
sketches by slowly burning them. In only keeping the final
50 drawings of the series he wanted to put the emphasis on
the time and space in which the work is created, which is
why Haukijärven Metsä (the forest of Haukijärven) became
the name of the series.
The drawings show different traces of lichen, tiny symbiotic
creatures who can be found in plenty in forests. Lichen can
live almost anywhere, and can be an indication for the health
of the forest. Lichen have been around for an astonishing
long time, they play a vital part in our environment, and the
history of the world.
The work speaks about these soft beings and tells their story,
and that of the forests in Finland. It speaks of its past, and it
speaks of the nurturing care both supply.