03 september 2024, Yves Joris
A false trail of lines and letters
The work of e.v. is a world that is as fleeting as it is intriguing. Her art is a quiet conversation with her daily life, where fine lines and empty spaces speak more than words. The exhibition Longer Than 10 Years at Gallery Settantotto reveals a universe of paper in which the boundaries between the personal and universal are blurred.
I must admit that I wasn't sure whether to introduce the artist by her full name or only her initials. Gallery owner Thijs Dely tells me that she prefers anonymity and that he only recognised her by the drawing pens she always carries in her handbag. When I visited the gallery, the artist and owner are busy arranging the presentation of the works, deciding which piece goes where and on which wall.
A fragmented puzzle
Her work is like fragments of a larger puzzle, pieces that gain more meaning when placed in the right context. She starts with elements from daily life like text messages, birth dates and anecdotes, which she transforms into visual signs. These signs in turn form small, isolated structures that don't copy the original document, but rather (randomly) recreate it. In the process, the original meanings are blurred and what remains is a manipulation of form and emptiness, a transition from fullness to emptiness, and vice versa.
e.v.’s approach is both conceptual and intuitive. She collects materials and fragments that may seem trivial at first glance, but in her hands, are transformed into carriers of meaning. However, this meaning is not straightforward or clearly defined, but a fluid concept that constantly changes, depending on the viewer's perspective. As Italo Calvino notes, there may be no clear, conclusive meaning that emerges, but rather a 'chiaroscuro' of a state of mind, a twilight in which the visible and invisible converge.
e.v, Settantotto Art Gallery
A poetic document
Every line, every letter in her work carries a story. But these stories are not traditional narratives but poetic documents, references to an inner world that is never fully revealed. Her work is like a form of visual poetry in which the focus is on a manipulation of words and images. They do not merely cite and paraphrase literary works but reinterpret them, stripping them of their original context and giving them a new place within the visual language of her art.
The choice of materials plays an essential role in e.v.’s work. She works with paper, a medium that is both fragile and versatile. The paper becomes a canvas for her thoughts, a place where ideas are anchored. She uses various techniques, such as watercolour, gouache, printmaking and silkscreen, as well as contemporary methods like mobile phone photography and photopolymer. This diversity of techniques reflects her search for new forms of expression, for ways to approach her daily life in a new and surprising way.
e.v, Settantotto Art Gallery
The mystery of the everyday
e.v.’s art is deeply rooted in what she experiences on a day-to-day basis. She draws inspiration from the small, often overlooked moments in life. These moments are elevated and transformed into artworks that are both intimate and universal. She takes notes, makes sketches and collects words and images, which together form a mosaic of her inner world. This process of gathering and rearranging is similar to collecting scraps, assembling a collage from fragments of life.
What moves her is not merely depicted, but also reinvented. A text message becomes a graphic element, a birth date becomes an abstract pattern and a snippet of conversation becomes a poetic line. These elements are processed in an almost ritualistic way in which repetition and variation play an important role. It is a play of memory and imagination, of capturing the ephemeral and transforming the ordinary.
The importance of white space …
I had to look it up, but it was in 2006 that Yra Van Dijk's book Leegte, leegte die ademt (‘Emptiness, Emptiness That Breathes’) was published by Vantilt. A year earlier, she completed her dissertation on typographic white space in modern poetry. I still remember how I was struck by what was not written—the whites of Robert Ryman.
In e.v.’s work, the space between the lines is just as important as the lines themselves. The white background of the paper serves as a canvas on which the forms come to life. It is this emptiness that emphasises the fullness of the forms, drawing attention to the small and subtle. It is a balance between absence and presence, between the visible and hidden. The emptiness is not empty but filled with potential, with the possibility of meaning. This emptiness invites contemplation, a slow exploration of space. It is an invitation to pause, to look, to listen to the whispering voices of the lines. In this emptiness, we find the space to think, to reflect, to let our own thoughts resonate with the quiet poetry of her work.
e.v, Settantotto Art Gallery
… and the silence of words
Words play a central role in e.v.’s work, but not in the usual way. They are not meant to be read as linear texts, but rather as visual elements that are part of the composition. They are like whispering voices, echoes of thoughts that are never fully spoken. These words are traces of thinking, of searching for meaning, of playing with language.
Her use of text is akin to the way a poet chooses words: carefully, with attention to rhythm and sound and to the visual impact of the letters on the page. She creates word lists, manipulates the placement of letters and words, with the relationship between text and image. It is a game of suggestion, of insinuation, of creating an atmosphere, a mood that invites the viewer to join in, to participate in the silent dialogue.
The exhibition Longer Than 10 Years offers a glimpse into e.v.’s world, a world of soft voices and subtle lines, of everyday wonder and poetic documents. It is a world that commands attention for slow, meticulous exploration. It is an invitation to wander, to discover, to listen to the voices that whisper in the emptiness. In e.v.’s world, we find a place of rest, of reflection, of beauty. It is a place where ordinary things reveal their poetic side, where every line tells a story and every silence holds meaning.
e.v, Settantotto Art Gallery
