Liquid Shadows explores the ephemeral nature of perception, a space where reality appears as an ever shifting mirage, blurring the boundaries between the visible and the invisible, the known and the unknown. It presents a fluid, liminal world where forms, meanings, and memories intertwine, calling into question the solidity of what we see and the certainty of what we know. This exhibition creates an immersive atmosphere in which light and shadow do not simply coexist but coalesce, creating a delicate tension that both mesmerizes and unsettles, allowing the familiar to transform into something hauntingly unrecognizable.
The concept of Liquid Shadows is rooted in ambiguity and the allure of the indefinite. It invites viewers to step away from clear interpretations and to enter a realm of suspended certainty, a landscape in which forms appear solid yet seem to melt away on closer inspection, where the concrete mingles with the surreal. This exhibition doesn’t offer straightforward answers or defined paths; instead, it welcomes viewers into a dreamlike state of flux, where every scene holds the potential for endless interpretations. Through the subtle play of beauty and unease, Liquid Shadows creates a poetic, almost cinematic experience that invites reflection on the dual nature of perception: what we see and what we imagine.
At the heart of Liquid Shadows are the works of Billy Gibney and Mirjam Vreeswijk, two artists who navigate the delicate boundary between clarity and ambiguity. Gibney's painting, Get Better Soon, exemplifies his approach. Set in an austere room filled with deep shadows, metallic balloons spelling out the phrase “GET BETTER SOON” hang in the air, catching the light and creating an eerie sense of celebration tinged with melancholy. The reflective surfaces of the balloons are both festive and cold, mirroring the empty room that seems haunted by absence. The phrase, typically associated with messages of comfort, feels disturbingly hollow in this context, as if directed toward an unseen presence. The work captures a moment of suspended hope tinged with irony, echoing themes of isolation, longing, and the strangeness that can underlie everyday gestures.
Vreeswijk’s Solar Hourglass presents a different vision, one that blends organic forms with surreal, almost mystical energy. The piece resembles a cradle or hourglass suspended in a glowing environment of rich, warm tones, with flowing, tentacle-like shapes that melt over its edges. This surreal structure invites the viewer to contemplate the passage of time and the cycles of nature, yet the image resists simple interpretation. There is an eerie beauty to it, a sense of time suspended and fluid, as though the hourglass is not measuring moments but capturing something far more elusive and eternal. In Solar Hourglass, Vreeswijk turns the natural world into a vessel for emotion, using familiar forms to evoke the wonder and mystery of transformation, as if the elements themselves held secrets waiting to be revealed.
Together, Get Better Soon and Solar Hourglass illustrate the heart of Liquid Shadows, a world where reality and dream intermingle, where beauty and unease dance in tandem, and where viewers are invited to surrender their expectations. Each work acts as a portal into a suspended reality, guiding us to explore new emotional landscapes and question the reliability of perception itself. In the end, Liquid Shadows is not just an exhibition but an experience, one that transcends the visual and taps into the psychological, where logic dissolves, and intuition takes the lead. It is a journey into the depths of perception, where anything is possible, and where, for a fleeting moment, we can drift away from the concrete confines of reality into the endless possibilities of the unreal.