but Arm in Arm with Touch* 2021
online solo
For her first ever online solo, Karin Arink shows a selection of her works revolving around arms. The word ‘arms’ can mean limbs, but it also means weapons, or even the emblem of nobility. We fight with arms. We hide behind our arms, feel safe in each other’s arms. We have to stay at arms’ length in these online times. Arms are the tools with which we touch – and make.
In these works, manifestations of physical arms are extensions of the body, become a shield for the body, or as pars pro toto, arms take in the place of the body.
For this solo, Karin Arink created a few small series of inkjet works – each series consists of 2 max. 3 unique works. In addition, she selected 2 older ink jet works, as well as 2 photo works of her VerteerWezens** series.
* The solo title is a crude cut-out from a poem by Emily Dickinson: ‘The Spirit lasts, but in what mode’ (1894). In this poem, Dickinson creates a.o. an amazing analogy between how a violin through touch creates sound - with how within the body, the spirit lurks.
** VerteerWezens is an ongoing series of spatial objects in papier-mâché, started in 2017. The title can be roughly translated as 'digested-beings'. In each work, a rejected object or utensil is combined with modelling mesh, cardboard and/or other materials. This is covered with a layer of papier maché made from shredded waste paper, from newspapers and flyers. In this way used materials are "digested" by turning them into creatures/beings.
By photographing herself behind/with these sculptures, the relation between the affect-rich object and Arink’s concrete physical body becomes clear.
The series of VerteerWezens is still growing, and so are the related photo works.