Blue On Both Sides [accompanying text]
Blue On Both Sides (264+1 pieces): 2023.01
graphite, gouache, ecoline, inkjet, tape, paper, screws, and wood.
2023 – ongoing
'Blue On Both Sides’ is a work by Pedro Kastelijns containing 264+1 pieces, 264 on the wall, and 1 on the floor. Kastelijns writes: "During previous exhibitions of mine visitors would appreciate the work, but often say they didn’t know what was going on.
This made me decide:
I want to explain my work.
I explain because I care.
I want to be generous.
I started to explain by making drawings on a4 printing paper, the most immediate type available, exposing in an isolated way, like specimens, the different characters often depicted in my paintings, normally camouflaged in the background. I quickly realized drawing the characters by themselves wasn’t explanatory enough since they aren't easy to understand at first glance. This made me strip down the characters, isolating each part that constitutes them and presenting each one individually.
Because I stripped down the characters I had to add + and = in order to put them back together. I want to add; I’m not interested in subtracting.
Initially, they were all facing the left, therefore I had to make them all look to the right as well. I want to give them the option to move in different directions.
A drawing on a4 printing paper is very fragile, I made a copy of each a4 and I wrapped tape around it. I want to give It strength.
I paint BLUE on both left and right side because I want to emphasize each side of the object: a4 printing paper. I want to be persistent, repetitive, and methodical.
I paint GREEN only the ones with solid geometric shapes. I want to follow rules determined by intuition and feeling.
The work is hung in a systematic way in order to clearly show what every piece went through. I want to explain my work. I explain because I care. I want to be generous.
The order in which the pieces are displayed follows the numbers of a model done spontaneously at the studio, not knowing it was going to be of use. I want to engage with chance.
The 1-floor piece is composed of pilled-up items present in my studio during the making of the 264 wall pieces. I want to give the 264 pieces company. I don’t want to perfectly delimitate corners.
All the pieces are unique. The printed matter will never be reproduced again. The work is ongoing: sold, lost, or given away pieces will be replaced by other unique pieces. I want the work to breathe, to be alive, not static, I’m not interested in preserving its original form."
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