"'Politics is not the exercise of, or struggle for power', but instead 'consist in reconfigurating the distribution of the sensible.' The dream of a suitable political work of art is in fact the dream of disrupting the relationship between the visible, the sayable, and the thinkable without having to use the terms of a message as a vehicle. It is a dream of an art that would transmit meanings in the form of a rupture with the very logic of meaningful situations."[1]
My name is Edwin Stolk and I am a visual artist. Before I went to the art academy I received a military training and worked in the transport sector. These experiences formed my socially engaged art practice. Culture means shared meaning in which everyone can participate. This is often not self-evident. When I mention the word 'art' in public I not seldom feel a certain distance. Isn't that strange when you consider that the world is most of all a visual experience? That is why I am an artistic service provider. Together with others I organize art projects on social issues at various locations. I feel supported by my wife Hristina Tasheva who also documents these artistic journeys.
At the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague (2002 – 2007) I discovered the philosophical work of Maurice Merleau Ponty. I recognized myself in his description of the painter Paul Cezanne. The artist as a radical phenomenologist. Merleau Ponty gave direction to my ideas about the role of science in relation to 'reality'. It was him who described the importance of a 'pre-scientific' approach. As human beings we are not an 'object' in, but connected with - and therefore available to the world. Nothing just exists on its own. That is why I focus on context-dependent art projects that are relational in the core of there existence.
Quantum scientist David Bohm warned back in the 1990s that we create new problems while trying to solve old problems. He warned for the high degree of fragmentation in the way we think and act. We divide the world into pieces (to understand it) and lose touch with the whole. Through specialization (the linking of supply to demand) we are unable to meet. In my artistic practice I try to bring different forms of expertise together in multidisciplinary alliances. From a shared responsibility we make knowledge and resources available for other perspectives. Residencies offer me the possibility to meet people in the dynamics of their own environment. This is where my artistic researches, proposals and interventions start.
The urgent issues we face today require 'independently' formulated multidisciplinary insights instead of quick solutions. The organizational structure of our market-oriented society hinders the possibility of meeting each other at this level. Art must claim the innovative space necessary to reconsider our actions. That is why I look for alternative forms of 'organization' that can function outside the usual logic. These artistic practices also require a different value system within the arts themselves. Procedures at funds are often not equipped to facilitate these practices. At the same time, private organizations have no idea how meaningful artistic practices can be for their survival. After all, it is very important to keep looking for your own alternative to face new challenges.
During my master studies at the Sandberg Institute in Amsterdam (2009 – 2011) I discovered the philosophical work of Alain Badiou. He speaks of a temporary 'truth-finding' and, in addition to politics, science and love, he sees art as an important 'truth procedure'. A way of searching for 'truth'. The academic idea of the 'autonomous artist' stands in the way of developing this artistic position. My art practice proves that art as an 'independent' mediator in special collaborations can lead to more 'artistic freedom'. Moreover, the realization of art in dialogue with others gets direct meaning in everyday situations. Art as a 'truth procedure' therefore has an important journalistic dimension that is rarely used today.
With site-specific interventions I build bridges between past, present and future. During these long-term artistic projects, I try to introduce local communities to the possibilities of context-dependent art. By working together on location, I seek new insights into situations that at first glance seem unchangeable.
Let me give you a few examples. I worked in a broad collaboration on a test colony on the birthplace of the Dutch welfare state to explore the pros and cons of the participatory society ('Base camp Entre Nous 2014 - 2017'). With residents and ex-employees I searched possibilities for the repurposing of the decaying heritage of the Langerbrugge Power Station in Belgium ('View on the Langerbrugge Power Station 2020 - 2021'). With a diversity of people I worked on the rural exodus in the Austrian region of Lungau ('Conversation Pieces 2022 - 2023').
In 2024, at the invitation of the SETUP Foundation, I was part of the innovation lab 'Wanted: Talented Municipalities' with the aim of increasing support among municipalities to work on challenges together with creative and cultural makers. In the municipality of Krimpen aan den IJssel I researched the possibilities for a vibrant "Heart of Krimpen" entitled 'cardio_vision 2024 - 2025'.
As an adviser I am part of the LEV! network - Living environment, Heritage and Imagination from the Province Utrecht. This network contributes expertise and creativity to issues in the field of spatial quality. As a guest teacher I shared my knowledge a.o. at ArtEZ Academy for Art & Design in Zwolle and Arnhem, Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam and at the Royal Academy of Art (KABK) in The Hague.
I am always on the lookout for opportunities to share my expertise on context-dependend art and to work on site-specific subjects. This website gives the viewer an impression of my artistic work and is divided into work in progress, art projects that have been realized or unfortunately never came to fruition.
The fact that some proposals have not (yet) been realized does not make them less meaningful. The art that I find most interesting must be able to introduce other perspectives in complex environments where old narratives have lost their meaning.
If you want to work together or have a question please feel free to contact me.
Kind regards,
Edwin Stolk
Photo: 'View of the Langerbrugge Power Station', Belgium 2021
Collaborate? Send an email: info [at] edwinstolk.nl
[1] Jacques Rancière, Aesthetics and its Discontents, Cambridge 2009, p.24.