Clarinde Wesselink

At first sight, the work of Clarinde Wesselink opens up dreamlike worlds, set aside the temporalities, politics and constraints of everyday life and space. Worlds, that permit those who enter them even feelings, sensations and thoughts beyond the (all too) human realm. The self is no longer a singular self, persisting in time and space, but a self that differs from, and multiplies itself with each behavioural repetition and each new encounter. Performers are no longer in control over their bodies and environment but have become parts in a choreography, along with the water, the soil and other organisms. The human body is no longer a ‘self’ but has lost its social determinations by entering other temporalities. Nature is no longer an inert ground, but an ongoing transformative force. However, once you spend a bit longer with Wesselink’s worlds, it becomes clear their impact or meaning goes beyond that of being merely momentary escapes from human-centeredness. To be more precise, Wesselink’s worlds confront us with a series of paradoxes, of which it could be said that they are at the heart of the challenges our societies face with regard to inner and outer nature. Her performative worlds do not simply invite ‘us ’in, as passive spectators, but challenge the limits and possibilities of what an ‘us ’as humans might entail and where this ‘us’ might end up, particularly in the face of the looming ecological catastrophe. At first sight, Wesselink’s worlds seem dreamlike, set aside from the ‘real ’world, but as soon as one enters them, they become linked to all other's spaces and temporalities, while at the same time countering them.

www.clarindewesselink.com