Unreal

'Unreal' the second solo exhibition
of Thijs Zweers at TORCH
gallery in Amsterdam. Once again Zweers presents black powerful
drawings made with Siberian
chalk and charcoal, in which he examines the boundaries between our
world and the virtual
one. In a time when people spend more and more time in front of
screens, looking towards realistic
representations of what is actually around us, the certainty of what
is real and what is not, disappears
slowly.

Colour
is left out in the work of Zweers. Pitch black is alternated with
soft grey tones and pristine white. The black chalk scratches, it
clouds, it disappears suddenly from the canvas and then appears again
as if no interruption has occurred. Not only does the artist’s
artisan drawing process emphasise how every work is made by hand, it
also highlights every work’s uniqueness. At the same time, the
subject of the image is quite the opposite: digitally created plants
and trees. Preceding every drawing, Zweers creates a wayward digital
setting from behind his computer; he designs a dark world where
frightening trees and bushes come towards, surround and envelop you
as you are trying to make your way through the virtually constructed,
lush jungle. A video work in the gallery shows this world on the
screen.

For
Zweers, this digital world is the starting point of his art. Once the
designing process is finished, he transfers these images through
graphic means, by hand, on to the canvas. To disturb the view and
make clear that it is not reality you are looking at, white random
markings interrupt the drawing. Intuitively, Zweers adjusts some tape
on the surface before he starts drawing, which he removes after the
drawing is complete. This causes the blank canvas comes to light. The
disruption of the picture helps to remind the viewer that it is still
a reconstructed digital image they’re looking at; it is not real.
The realistic representation is, in fact, unreal.

Especially
for this occasion, there has been created a special ale called
‘Unreal’ in collaboration with
Oedipus Brewing. This Golden Sour Ale will be presented the day
before the opening, on the 9th
of March, with a beer tasting in the brewery itself. The next day it
will be served at the opening in
the gallery. For the dark black glass bottles, Zweers made three
different drawings that are used
for the limited edition labels. During the launch, there will be a
small exhibition with drawings and
projections, including a site-specific work. (Address
Oedipus Taproom: Gedempt Hamerkanaal 85, 1021 KP Amsterdam)

Thijs
Zweers (1986, Hoorn) works and lives in Amsterdam. He graduated in
2010 from the art academy ArtEZ in Arnhem. Since then, his work was
shown at Art Rotterdam, This Art Fair, Amsterdam Art Fair and various
exhibitions in the Netherlands, Belgium and Mexico. He is represented
by TORCH Gallery in Amsterdam.