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Jan Robert Leegte untitled work in section: Exhibition untitled work in section: Medialounge Jan Robert Leegte, Netherlands, *1973 lives and works in Amsterdam Artist statement: The central aim of my work is to research the point where the mind starts doubting between reality and illusion. A main focus is on the aspect of the physical experience. I try to create works that have a convincing sculptural feel only that they are built up from materials which the mind hasn’t categorised as being so. In my sculptural work that implies creating walls from Xerox sheets or large slabs of brown packing paper. As from 1997 I started exploring the possibilities of the internet-browser for it’s sculptural properties. Buttons, scrollbars, table borders, etc. were used for net installations which had the same feel as my previous studio work. The elements of the browser appear to have an striking physical reality mostly gained by the large public daily use, interactivity, animation and three-dimensional extrusion. When asked, everybody declares the scrollbar to be 'unreal'. But in use it triggers reactions as frustration, anger, bored clicking, etc. etc. In my opinion these reactions show a complete subconscious acceptance of the reality of these objects. This experience-based way of testing physical reality defines the choice of material in my installations and internet work. The work has often been said to have late-modernistic tendencies. First of all I use the form because of the stripped character which is necessary to isolate the subtle experience. Second I use the mesmerising aesthetics to seduce the observer to experience the piece. A sheer necessity to lure the onlooker out of his intellectual base. http://www.leegte.org |