Dolly's house
Dolly codes
Dolly is my little helper.
She has already helped me by transporting little parts of material for the pre-studies of my sculpture 'Bandage'.
Below you can see our history and what we have accomplished so far.
Now she is also going to be integrated in Time Lapse with a new Code... her own code logo.
Not a black star this time but a white Peace Dove...
In one of the next code films I will show you how.
I'm going to paint the dove code on a tree and nail a golden feather ( or other objects ) to its leg.
The finder can keep the feather and at one of the exhibitions they will receive a little drawing, that also fits the feather.
I'll sign the drawing and the gift is then completed and theirs to keep.
Each time I'm painting her code, Dolly will be with me in her basket.
After finishing each Dolly code I will look for a little thing on the ground or in the tree that inspires me.
I'll pick it up and attach it to Dolly's leg and let her free...and she flies back home to Mon the pigeon fancier.
These pieces will be integrated in another new sculpture I'm working on...
More about this later...
Dolly, Mon and me: our history
Last year I passed by a house where a stack of cardboard panels was left on the sidewalk, nicely packed for the garbagemen.
I use cardboard in my sculptures so I stopped and asked if I could have some and we started talking...
That is how I met Mon, a retired pigeon-fancier (duiven melker). He saw that I was interested, so he showed me all his pigeon houses and explained me almost everything you need to know about the pigeon business...
The idea began when he told that a few days ago a stranger pigeon ('een vreemdelinge duif' as he calls it) arrived in his pigeon house.
These are pigeons who have lost their way and their ring and don't have a home anymore.
I asked Mon if it would be possible to attach a very small object to a pigeon and let her take it from point A to B. He looked very surprised but said "if it's not too big it might work". So after a few more of these meetings we decided to work together.
I chose a stranger dove to work with and we named her Dolly, after a character from the Dutch A.M.G. Schmidt books
(my favorite bedtime stories). We gave a stranger a home and made her important...
Mon trained the stranger dove so she would find her way back to her new home.
Tiny things :
All these little items I collected on my many walks, see collection below.
The purpose of collecting them was to make a new sculpture that was connected with Dolly and her story.
These little objects composed the feel, the structure, the look, the patina, the overall character of the sculpture that I intended to make.
I didn't use them in a sculpture but they where the starting point of it.
The special thing about these tiny things is that Dolly was the one who took them from point A to B. I took her along with me on the many walks during that year. Whenever I found an interesting tiny object, I attached it to Dolly's leg and let her fly home to Mon with it.
I documented everything and at this moment I'm working on the sketch book that will be planted in the sculpture at a later point. (A Trojan book) This sculpture I finished a few months ago. It is called 'Bandage' and can be seen here and on my site.
All these parts have been on a journey in the air !
They flew with Dolly in the sky...the flight records are all going to be integrated in the sketch book.
Distances, hours, weather reports, time lapses, altitudes and so on...
Dolly carries a transmitter and Mon the pigeon fancier records everything.
Our story will also be added to this special book. As you know by now, these sketch books all have a compartment at the back.
When Dolly's time has come she will be cremated and her ashes will be placed in this compartment as she becomes a part of the sculpture as an ode to all her work and our friendship.
And also an ode to all the refugees without a home...
The purpose of collecting them was to make a new sculpture that was connected with Dolly and her story.
These little objects composed the feel, the structure, the look, the patina, the overall character of the sculpture that I intended to make.
I didn't use them in a sculpture but they where the starting point of it.
The special thing about these tiny things is that Dolly was the one who took them from point A to B. I took her along with me on the many walks during that year. Whenever I found an interesting tiny object, I attached it to Dolly's leg and let her fly home to Mon with it.
I documented everything and at this moment I'm working on the sketch book that will be planted in the sculpture at a later point. (A Trojan book) This sculpture I finished a few months ago. It is called 'Bandage' and can be seen here and on my site.
All these parts have been on a journey in the air !
They flew with Dolly in the sky...the flight records are all going to be integrated in the sketch book.
Distances, hours, weather reports, time lapses, altitudes and so on...
Dolly carries a transmitter and Mon the pigeon fancier records everything.
Our story will also be added to this special book. As you know by now, these sketch books all have a compartment at the back.
When Dolly's time has come she will be cremated and her ashes will be placed in this compartment as she becomes a part of the sculpture as an ode to all her work and our friendship.
And also an ode to all the refugees without a home...
The sculpture :
The sculpture Bandage is connected with Dolly the dove and is created especially for her.
She was wounded on her right wing and that fact is combined with her story in this work.
The issue of the refugees comes to mind, the thousands of displaced people, looking for a new home and purpose.
I also used this theme in the installation 'Boy' and on some Instagram pieces.
It is close to my heart and will inspire more artwork in the future... like TLP 'Inner View.'
She was wounded on her right wing and that fact is combined with her story in this work.
The issue of the refugees comes to mind, the thousands of displaced people, looking for a new home and purpose.
I also used this theme in the installation 'Boy' and on some Instagram pieces.
It is close to my heart and will inspire more artwork in the future... like TLP 'Inner View.'
Bandage 2016
