Solo exhibition, Stedelijk Museum Schiedam
The three rooms of the States of Self exhibition each focus on its own quality of the "self". Existing works are combined with new installations and form a coherent whole.
The first space (room 1) has the theme Seduction / De eerste blik. Without being very direct, the works in this room appeal to the viewer. They address them (soliciting), challenge them and invite them in. Arink uses seductively glittering curtains here to create a space within a room. The figures are open and alluring.
The second space (room 4) is called Infiltration / Verstrengeling. In this room are sculptures/works that, with their congealed movement, yearn for the presence of the other. They are exhausted and worn out and seem to have only one wish; embrace me, let me in. In this way they evoke various associations and emotions.
In addition to the existing works, a new installation was created in this room. The ten windows are used as "frames" of a still animation by covering them with cut transparent foil. This series, which has previous applications, is called Claiming Space. This space also houses the work Expand Mumbag! This animation shows how a mother's body is stretched further and further. 'Mumbag' is a concept invented by Arink himself, in which the words "mum" and "bag" can be recognized, but which also evokes associations with the unflattering English swear word scumbag due to the sound. Motherhood as the ultimate infiltration and entanglement.
The theme in room 5. is In solitude / De binnenruimte and shows a microcosm of our inner self, the impressionability and isolation thereof, the space between matter and between thoughts. The works are hushed and seem to turn away and turn inward. A spoken text is heard, while the visitor enters a large floor sculpture made of cut vinyl. Further on lie the fragile remains of the porcelain "inner space" 1996.