"RUINS"

"De aanwezigheid van de natuur in de cultuur : het is precies de cultuur die naar de natuur , waar tegen ze als bescherming was opgeworpen , terugkeert. ."
(bron: Ton Lemaire, Filosofie van het landschap.)

The journey of the prints by Vicky Gruyters starts with impressions and memories from travels to places with different histories. Sketches and photographs evolve into new images. By letting go of the actual picture, a new image finds life. Some parts disappear; others are printed over, layer-by-layer. To re-use an existing image is not just making a copy or echo of the original, it’s giving birth to a brand new creation. In this way we no longer talk about reproduction. The edition is small, sometimes there is only one original print, so in this process what is so often termed ‘graphic art’ gets to offer its unique character. ‘Secret Garden’, a recent example of Gruyters’ output, is situated in the ‘twilight zone’ between nature and culture. We find perishable human creations slowly fading into the ‘consuming nature’ that surrounds it. The present and past fade into each other and the observer has the rare chance to catch a glimpse of the vanishing point.
The central motif is an abandoned building under siege by the unrelenting appetite of nature. The ruins and their stories of days gone by, merge into their surroundings; the ever changing, ever growing nature; from this apparent destruction a new story begins.