In my work, the relation between the presence and the absence of meaning is questioned. Not limiting myself to a single medium, I bring together paintings, collages, sculptures and writings, outlining them by a strange combination of abstract and figurative elements. This way, ambiguous forms become figures inside the scenario of the image. Intrigued by the idea of creating a universe in which all those characters meet, no work can be understood by itself and each image questions itself relating to the other pictures. The characters’ existence cannot be contested, but their exact meaning can be discussed. Text fragments and writings can function as a sometimes rather cynical guide or misguide for the spectator and introduce an extra dimension.
Therefore, the answer concerning the relevance of the meaning of the image is the central subject. I ask myself how far I can, as an artist, manipulate the meaning I associate to my works; does the act to give a meaning to an image depend exclusively on the viewer or is it the prerogative of the artist as creator?
'Decoratieve Platen' (2019)
Winner of the ArtContest 2018 prize and a graduate of the KASK School of Arts, Jolien De Roo lives and works in Ghent.
Composed in various mediums - collage, sculpture, and video - all the pieces exhibited here have been selected by the artist, who prioritizes the articulation and relationship between the works themselves.
Jolien De Roo’s works are the result of delicate interventions that question an image’s composition and meaning. Her sculptures involve the primary, ancestral and ever contemporary exercise of fitting together and balancing shapes, colours, patterns, texts and materials.
Her pieces are composed of multiple elements, situating them between abstraction and figuration. The creative process comes across as both transparent and rigorous, but leaving room for experimentation and questioning.
«The relevance of the meaning of the image is the central subject.» Jolien De Roo’s plastic and critical practice offers several dimensions of reading, inviting the visitor to question the search for visible signifiers or hidden meaning in her work.
As a promoter of young creativity, the Boghossian Foundation has provided financial support for several editions of ArtContest, which sets out to showcase the work of young Belgian artists and others living in Belgium.
Written by Louma Salamé