Exhibition "Enter at your own risk" by Anir Witt
description
'ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK'
Catastrophes follow one another, it seems, at an increased pace.
When we look back we lapse into musings, see ahead.. What do we see then?
Dare to see. Don't close your eyes; praying alone is not enough.
Love life!
This exhibition features works from before leaving the Netherlands, as well as recent work.
Since 1988, most of the work can be arranged under the theme 'Images of Impermanence'. To transform the idea into a tangible representation, reused materials, found forms and one's own body are employed. Natural cycles, rhythms, time and the power of repetition are a regular recurring phenomenon.
In early January 2022, when the restrictive Covid-19 measures made loneliness palpable, the artist decides to send herself a weekly card. 'With Love to Me'. The concept is simple: 52 cards, 1 card per week, with a visualised commentary that tells a threaded story by the end of the year. The 'Composition in Weeks' mailart project builds on this, albeit the front side of the total is already fixed. During the exhibition, this work will grow.
BIOGRAPHY
Anir Witt, born in 1953 in Amsterdam.
Conceptual artist: Mixed media, installations, environment, performances, mail-art and visual poetry
Graduated from the AKI Art Academy (ARTEZ) Enschede, Netherlands, in 1979 with 'Het Wortelproject'. The presentation involved the growth form of tree roots and consisted of monumental textile works in indoor and outdoor spaces, a slide sculpture and photographic work.
Leaving the Netherlands in 1999 marked the end of a turbulent artist's life, which included various projects at home and abroad and setting up an artists' interest group.
After travelling around Portugal for several years, the decision came to stay here. A simple existence in the mountainous region of the Beira Alta, near Oliveira do Hospital was chosen. Surrounded by rugged nature with its laws and surprises, close to farming that makes use of these cycles, was an intensive existence. In order not to let the days disappear in a succession of small events, the 'Diary 2010' was developed. A daily marker by taking a photograph. This would later get its frame of a sardine can, as it is often found in the countryside.
Even though it never went away, the thread of artistry could only be picked up after the move to São Bartolomeu dos Galegos (2017), and it was only after that that the artist was able to take up the work again.
Selection from the various activities over the years:
www.anirwitt.eu