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Elise van Staveren (2000) is driven in their practice by personal observations of universal experiences. They focus on everyday images and reinterpret them – such as a jacket that bulges as if worn, while its wearer is absent. Using oil paint, Van Staveren fixes these moments in time, preserving the fleeting. In addition, the artist casts everyday objects – including strips of paracetamol, teabags and birthday candles – in silver. By contrast, this material does bear the marks of time: it reacts with the air, allowing a patina to form.
At the heart of Van Staveren’s practice lies the tension between the precise moments they seek to preserve and the experience of ever-present finitude. As Van Staveren explains: ‘As humans, we occupy a space between two approaches to time: the desire to hold on, and the reality of inevitable impermanence.’ The artist attempts to capture passing moments and present them to us in a solid, tangible form. By allowing the boundaries between beginning and end to blur, Van Staveren reveals how porous the frameworks of our cherished moments truly are.
The work presented at Prospects continues this investigation. Garments rendered in oil appear, shaped by the contours of a human body. Silver objects are placed in cut-out recesses within the canvas, referencing the fleeting nature of memory. These objects also appear on the floor – as if flowing out of the painting in search of a permanent place in the here and now.
Written by: Kelly-ann van Steveninck