BLINDSPOT, 2023 - Nienke Baeckelandt
- Medium: epoxy casting resin, glass, concrete
- Size: 76 x 161 (height) x 26 cm
The work consists of transparent drops in the shape of a circle on a glass plate and a base made of raw concrete. The title refers both to the phenomenon of the “blind spot” as the “part of the retina where the optic nerve leaves the eye and one cannot see anything”. As well as to the proverbial meaning of the word. It refers to certain characteristics and themes that we do not notice or are not aware of. In ourselves, others or within power structures in society. “The blind spot is not normally perceived as such. The brain fills in the missing part of the image with the colors of the surrounding rods and cones so that the perceived structures do not appear interrupted.”. Because of our limited powers of perception, we supplement reality with our own images.
THE ARTIST: Nienke Baeckelandt
Nienke Baeckelandt (b. 1989, Ostend, lives in Antwerp) seeks the field of tension between intuition and control. Site-specific installations and sculptures subtly play with the viewer’s perception. She draws attention to hidden colors, objects or concepts. Areas of color visible only from a specific point of view, fused transparent objects and lightly colored shadows. Current media and new technologies encourage images to be consumed at a glance. Baeckelandt’s images, on the other hand, make one slow down.