Sunday Suit (2003)

Over a clothes stand hang a man’s jacket and a pair of trousers. A chair and a screen is placed next to the clothes stand. On the chair is a basin, towel and soap and against the screen hang a man’s shirt on a coat hanger and a tie. Everything is made out of rusted metal. In the basin is a small TV monitor with the image of a razor continuously being rinsed in water.

The images in the installation “ Sunday Suit “ are metaphors for a moment of reflection. A Sunday Suit is put on for a special occasion : a wedding, a funeral, an important meeting. These objects represent a moment before the event in which there is reflected on what lies ahead. The suit is also a symbol of power and politics and status.

This intimate moment is an opportunity to consider before the “ public face “ is put on. Because the objects give the impression of archaeological finds through the use of rusted metal, it is as if the intimate moment was “ preserved “ and we can reflect on history.

The rising in water is metaphoric of a cleansing process. This moment of preparation also suggests vulnerability, before the suit is put on. Ironically, the “ Armor “ of the clothes emphasizes the vulnerability and transience of everything because of the rusted and degenerated quality of the material.

In this work an attempt is made to suggest something poetic, quiet and spiritual within the context of the fight for survival and against time =- a spiritual moment that also only remains and survives temporarily.