18 august 2023, Wouter van den Eijkel
The Prelude: Interview with Awoiska van der Molen
On an enclosed path next to the Gashouder, Awoiska van der Molen is showing a number of works on glass plates. They have no frames, so they blend in with the surroundings. Van der Molen always works in untouched nature, far from the modern world, and developed this unique form of presentation over the past few years. The theme of this year’s edition of Unbound, the section of Unseen that focuses on multidisciplinary photography, is nature. So, an outdoor presentation is an obvious choice. A conversation with the artist about her presentation at Unseen called The Prelude, her working method and the NFTs of her work to be shown in Unveil.
When Unseen approached you for this edition of Unbound on the theme of nature, did you immediately know what you wanted to do and where?
I was invited to present my work on the site around the Gashouder (where Unseen is held, ed.). I decided to show glass works, a technique I also used two-and-a-half years ago at the Into Nature Biennale in Drenthe.
I started looking for a suitable location on the Westergasterrein. I discovered a path right next to the Gashouder. It’s a wonderfully quiet spot right between the bustling Gashouder and the busy cycling, walking and jogging path.
I know the Westerpark well. When I was living in the adjacent Spaarndammerbuurt neighbourhood, I biked through the park almost every day on my way to my studio. This made it even more of a surprise to discover this path. It's a long path, but I associated it with a secret garden, perhaps because it reminded me of the book The Secret Garden, which I read as a child, about a forgotten garden hidden behind a high, impenetrable wall. That book made an impression on me. The Gashouder is right next to the path, another high, closed embankment.
You call it a secret garden. Did you base your selection of works on that?
The wall of the Gashouder and the numerous tall trees provide shelter and combined with the light, it’s an idyllic place. I selected images from different parts of the world with an exotic and romantic character. I don't mean the latter in the sweet sense of the word, but as the sublime, the painful.
The presentation is called The Prelude. What does that title refer to?
It is the title of a megalomaniac poem, or rather a verse, by Romantic poet William Wordsworth. During the rise of the Industrial Revolution, which he criticized, he writes about the importance of nature. It was groundbreaking at that time to state that health of human society depends on a healthy relationship with the environment.
You always work in nature, often in remote and quiet locations. What attracts you to such places?
My work arises from the need to return to the original territory of humans: untouched nature, with its natural rhythm on which our body system is based, far from the modern world. When I am out there for a longer period of time and no longer really ‘see’ with my eyes, I sense a physical connection with nature, and then start taking photographs.
Awoiska van der Molen, Test, 2019
What do you mean by a physical connection?
That arises when we, and by that I mean myself, come into contact with nature. That can take several days and being on my own is also a requirement. When the senses are no longer distracted by technology, people and bricks, the ratio subsides and there is room for perhaps also a spiritual connection, which is not a wishy-washy thing to say, but simply the coming together of our physical body with our source of existence: nature.
That is, of course, not easy in the Netherlands, where there is very little untouched nature…
When I take pictures, a certain sense of wilderness needs to be experienced. That is why I almost exclusively work outside the Netherlands, with the exception of a few projects. I photographed the images of the earlier glass works on the Bargerveen in Drenthe, the last living high peat bog in the Netherlands. Dams keep the peat moist to prevent it from drying out and disappearing. So, this is controlled wilderness. To me, this unapproachable plain, especially in the desolate month of February, together with the Waddenzee and most isolated dunes, are the most untouched nature in the Netherlands. And, equally as important, it is a place where loneliness can be experienced.
How did you come up with the idea to place your work in nature? Was replacing the flat surface with a sculptural approach a logical next step for you?
I was invited to create work in the vast peat landscape for the Into Nature Biennale. This resulted in a different form of presentation. The first few times I was there, it was actually too sunny, which makes the area dazzlingly beautiful, but without the deeper layer I was looking for. Sunlight on flat fields make them look even flatter on a photograph than they already are A few weeks later, I returned in February, when it was cold, damp and foggy. It was perfect. The heavy grey sky created a sense of mysticism and volume that you can get lost in.
The idea to use glass plates gradually came about while I was photographing. From the very beginning, I associated the area with the Witte Wieven (the spirits of "wise women" in Dutch mythology, ed.), bog bodies and sagas and traditions I remembered as exciting stories from primary school.
While I was working on the project, a family member reminded me that my ancestors can be traced back to the 1700s in this formerly extensive peat area. I thought, “Wow, I'm standing here on my own roots.” This added a new dimension during the process of photographing. All those aspects that are not visible but can be felt – a kind of presence and absence of mind, reality, time, existence non-existence – inspired me to consider a transparent material. I wanted to translate the transience of these conditions. That is why the glass plates are not framed and the glass only has a metal base. This way, the image is free to blend in with the environment, without limitation.
Awoiska van der Molen, detail glaswerk #5, Into Nature Biennale 2021
One of the things that struck me most when looking at the glass works is that from a distance, they overlap with the environment in terms of perspective. You might call them an alternate reality. Is that what you're after?
I always find it fascinating to hear how others experience my work. Personally, I consider them fragments of nature coming together. Depending on how you move as a viewer, the actual environment dances with the world in the glassware. It takes three to tango!
Coinciding with the presentation at Unbound, a number of NFTs of your work will also be published in Unveil, the online NFT photography platform. You work with analogue cameras and print in a dark room, so was it a big step for you to create an NFT? Why did you decide to go on this 'adventure'?
When Unveil asked me if I were interested, I thought: let's do it. It’s true that I only work in analogue, but like everyone else, I have a smartphone. For years, I have been making film clips during my photography trips, 'behind the scenes' clips as it were. Making these moving sensory wonder worlds available as NFT is an exciting approach I’d like to explore. Like the glass works, they float in space.
