MY MISSION IS TO MATERIALIZE PIECES OF THE NON-MATERIAL UNIVERSE
par l'artiste Carla Van Beers

Plastic for ever was a project in which I only made use of plastic materials. I was intrigued by the contradiction of " Realness " and Artificiality in life. People use the phrase " it is a plastic world " when they think that nothing in that world looks real. I used to dislike the unreal aspects in life, I thought that the real things were better that the fake ones. But while I was working on this project, my mind changed. I realize that the things people in our history would look upon as unreal had become already real to us in our contemporary world. Those things are inevitable.

I found out that fake objects could be as real as authentic ones, because everything depends on the context in which it is placed. Fiction turns into Reality.

To enlarge this idea of realness I made an installation : a bathroom filled with all kinds of silly plastic items. And so I was able to create the one and only, Real Plastic World.

At the same time, a little book came into being with pictures I had taken in Namibia and in South Africa. In this book you can find all kinds of opposites like foam of the sea versus bath foam, real stones, artificial ones, eatable grapes, plastic fruits, black man, white woman, " real " eye and mirrored eye, pure nature, artificial ornaments, sunshine, shadow, water from a brook versus water from a swimming pool.... and many more.

The invisible site of life emerged to me. I had left the question of Reality behind, because I had discovered that both real things and artificial ones arise from the same source. I wanted to look for this source and learn to know more about " the patterns of life ". The materials I used for this project were woven, like I believe that men's fate is woven. I made use of all kinds of threads, beads, seeds and other organic materials. Also, during this project I found a lot of cloths which I adapted to a piece of art. While I was working in this female area of the magical art of thread, making all kinds of wall hangings, using no machine, creating everything by hand with needle and thread, I started to comprehend that the patterns of life were based on two main sources of power and when I saw how these forces worked together, I could see the third and biggest source, known as the big One or God, as well. There were many moments of deeper understanding, but clarity is not here to stay. Life's secrets are not to be unveiled. Nevertheless I kept on trying. I had wished I could share my ideas with scientists to fill up a lot of gaps, but no scientists came along my path.

I liked a phrase from Steve Hawkins's book : " I am hopeful that we will find a consistent model that describes everything in the universe. " Personally I would like to change this into : Due to the arts of thread, the scientific association for patterns has found a consistent model that describes the universe.

To experience the invisible site of life from the soul's point of view, I exchanged ideas with my fried Liesbeth Topper who is a sculptor. We worked together and helped each other to explore the subject matter of " the veil ". This new project tended to have a more religious and social character for the veil is an archetype which plays an important role in different kinds of religions.

To me the veil is a synonym to art. And so is art a synonym to religion. I'm not saying that art is the same as religion, but both arts and religion tend to unveil the non-material side of the world. Perhaps art can break up the barriers between the different races and religious groups.

To me subject of the veil has everything to do with figurative language, with symbols and archetypes. It has to do with the sight of the eye and the words from the mouth and the ears that receive. It has to do with the transit of life from the material world into the non-material universe.

So, in this project I focused on the soul of human beings and portrayed hidden eyes and glazing faces. I used different kinds of materials, like window-pane, mirror, textile, beads, a road sign, an animal skin, ornaments and my photographs.

"The Science of the Unbroken" 1998 Collage : photography and textile 75 cm x 75 cm © Carla van Beers

On this picture, you can see a piece of cloth flowing in the water. Four shirts are tied together in opposite directions, giving expression to the south, west, north and east, representing the world we are living in. The painted lines on the shirt are the paths of our lives. We can walk in different directions, but as you follow the line you will discover that it ends where it had started : in the middle. The golden spiral is there as well. In this spiral, the two sources of power (visualized as lines and circles) unite.

The shirt with the painted lines are a symbol of the linear sources in life, the one who gives structure, the one who builds and divides. The water in which it flows is the representative of the rotating sources of like, the one who creates, gives the energy, the one who unites.

The photograph is embedded in a female piece of textile, a shiny dress with many dots. There is a lot of life's unconsciousness going on in this work.

When I made this piece, I was not aware of the " water spirit " some people in Zimbabwe talk about. Somebody had mentioned this water spirit to me, but I did not comprehend this word. Later I found out about Karanga Mythology and got to know many stories on this subject.

African Colours 2000 :http://www.africancolours.com