“What else is the human appearance than the physical deposition of the myths and ideas we use in order to give ourselves substance, and meaning to our existence?
Look at religion, and martyrdom for that religion. It is the most powerful identity-myth humans have created to date, so powerful, martyrs are willing to kill themselves or be killed for the sake of the myth, and the respect it will give them, post mortem. The act of martyrdom will perpetuate their identity in death.
How much more physical and consequential can an idea become?”
In her autonomous work, Marije Bijl explores physicality as a manifestation of reality, while challenging us to question the validity of this reality. Bijl refrains from pre-empting or forestalling what is, or should be, “real”. She does not portray perceived misconceptions by antithesis, exaggeration or dramatic incidents, but rather by meticulously deconstructing the process of interpretation that creates accepted realities. As such, her paintings are a demonstration of the hybrid quality of identity as both the source as well as the result of that process of interpretation.
Bijl’s characters are eerily detached yet connected, isolated yet entangled in their surroundings. We feel they are outplaced, intangible, yet familiar and ordinary. They are object as well as subject, perpetuators as well as victims of the myths and precepts of morality that constitute the fabric of normalcy and the comfort of norms.
The men, women, youth and children, even when released from the grip of myths and norms, remain in suspense. The state of fluidity now is one between the isolation and restrictions of the human condition on the one hand, and the inter-human relations made possible by this very same human condition on the other hand. It is this – indeed shocking – realization of the repetition of symptoms, which creates an uncomfortable, sometimes near unbearable, tension.
As a result, we inevitably feel the need to “make sense” and give meaning to what we see, by creating a story around the subjects and objects, by placing them into relations to each other. Bijl’s use of space and lines creates a sense of connectedness thus setting teasing narrative parameters, yet she consciously refuses to tell the story herself.
BIJL ON HER STYLE, TECHNIQUE AND INFLUENCES
I am a drawing artist, first and foremost. I love to draw. The directness and swiftness of the technique, the starkness of the graphical effect of pure black on pure white is powerful. It is my lines that show my personal style most clearly. They give my work their distinct style. The lines give substance to the painting.
The fact I draw over my painting is what sets them off. It is also what I use to ‘keep my painting under control’. I need the lines to ground the painting, so to speak. I need to ‘close off’ the coloured spaces, sometimes even to scratch out things. I find I want that stark effect of black, sharp lines to counterbalance the fields of colour a painting is made of.
The arrows give direction to the viewer. One has to follow the direction in which they are flying, to what they are pointing or penetrating. It gives both a direction to your way of viewing as well as a distinctly different feeling to the image: with arrows, the image suddenly becomes laden, suddenly alludes to a story.
The same effect, if not stronger, is achieved by giving people a halo or a crown (a reference to Basquiat). They capture the eye, they are compository anchors, yet they also embody meaning through their association with sanctity, holiness, power and influence. No viewer, no matter his or her background, upbringing or beliefs, will be able to refrain from interpreting this symbol, and thus the story he or she perceives in the painting. Which is what makes these signs so very powerful.
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#76: Young Disciples V
Medium: acryl en inkt op doek
Afmetingen: 140 x 200cm.
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#77: Passiespel
Medium: acryl en inkt op papier
Afmetingen: 150 x 170cm.
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#78: Mam VIII
Medium: inkt op papier
Afmetingen: 50 x 65cm.
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Artist’s CV:
Born in the Netherlands, june 1970.
1982 – 1989 Gymnasium Camphusianum in the small town of Gorinchem.
1988 – 1993 Academy of art in Arnhem, now Artez, autonomous and graphical arts.
Publisched three comics in the comics magazine Striptuur
1993 – 1995 Academy of art in Tilburg, animation, cartooning and autonomous arts
Participated in the collective project “Kleur bekennen” an art animation film produced by the Anne Frank foundation
Received second prize for the script and storyboard for a call for artists at the first Utrecht animation festival
1995 – 1999 Freelance storyboard and cartoon artist.
1999 – 2002 Assistant manager at Snowplanet, an indoor skiing resort near Amsterdam. Left art behind for a while.
2003 – today Autonomous artist, accredited as such by the local arts council Stroom, and taken up in their database.
Design for snowboards and t-shirts for Australian based snowboard manufacturer Valhalla Snowboards, for seasons 2004 and 2005
Exhibition at the Appel theatre ‘Tantalus’ Solo, 2004
Private commission for a mural, 2004
Exhibition at gallery Goncourt, Group, 2005
Private commission for two murals, 2005
Live painting of a mural and an exhibition at the Riff Raff Urban Arts event, 2005
Exhibition at the Art fair Cologne, 2005
Exhibition at the Theaterplan theatre alongside their production ‘Mistero buffo’ Solo, 2007
Exhibition at the TH Gallery, 2007. Group.
Exhibition at the TH Gallery, 2008. Group.
Exhibition at the Art Amsterdam, 2008. Group.