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Wim Van Mulders
the wood, turning the sculptures into dramatis personae. The fold crystallises the abyss – so near and yet so far – over which the artist bends without disappearing into it himself. The sinister nature of the sculptures nevertheless shows an attempt to offer a haven and home for an un satisfied longing and an oppressive feeling of alienation. Typical of the sculptures is that they literally don’t reach great heights. Their rather stocky presence invites the observer to examine what is nearby. We get right up close and hesitatingly familiarise ourselves with the object. He doesn’t choose imposing dimensions, as small and large have little to do with monumentality. Human proportions compel concentrated observation. We are obliged to walk around, as we can’t pick the work up. We can only dream of appropriation. Sculptures are given titles such as Cloud, Heaven, Crib, Birds, Tree, Well, L adder, Trousers and Mater. The names of the sculptures are their faces. Strung together, the titles evoke Dadaistic poems, as they stem from the same radical spontaneity, with its playful and serious turns. The explicit titles don’t coincide with the thing, as all linguistic descriptions are ambiguous. This
creates a dark shadow between the reality of the thing and the language, with its failure and inadequacy.
Patroon [Pattern], 2006 Eik, potlood, krijt / Oak, pencil, chalk, 43 x 36 cm Privécollectie / Private collection
z.t. [Untitled], 2000 -2008 Potlood op papier / Pencil on paper, 29,7 x 21 cm Privécollectie / Private collection
Sensuality There is an element of criticism in Buedts’ works of the absence of sensuality in recent art. In the core of many productions nestles a post- conceptual theory in which tactics and strategy guide the interpretation. In his multimedia work, a ground-breaking ambition constantly recurs, though it is only possible to test the borders for their elasticity. There are always borders within borders, incidentally, borders outside borders, etc. Buedts offers no theoretical foundation. The titles are precise, clear and explicit. Nevertheless, they pro vide hardly any foothold for interpretation. Buedts’ basic work clears the field of vision by seeking the form behind the forms. The form visualises that which remains unutterable. “No man understands sensual language yet, but the birds of the air and the beasts of the woods do, each according to its kind. Man can therefore contemplate that of which he has been robbed,” wrote the 17 th-century mystic and philoso pher Jacob Boehme.