Music and Light
- Artist Name: Berend Kaak
- Dimensions:75cm x 55cm
- Artist Location:ACT
- Medium: Mixed media - Wood (including Ebony), Bakelite, glass (bulb), fabric (on cord) metal, threaded rod, metal strings, nuts and screws, rubbers washer, copper wiring and horse hair (to bow).
- Category: Sustainability
Music; takes you back to a time, a place, a moment, it can be the tone that places the glow on a precious memory. This vintage (Suzuki ?) "Made in Nippon" violin with it's bow have a history and a story, couple with a vintage Bakelite base, switch bulb fitting and power plug, they have seen a world that many of us only have vague memories of or are possibly too young to have experienced. Now there's a new connection, a mixing of old and new, traced through the cotton covered flex and terminating at the oversized ornamental bulb.
My focus on art started in secondary school and then training as a silversmith at university, followed by 25 years of a career in national museums and galleries, focusing on their art collections. I then transitioned into my own business, Professional Fine Art Installation. Currently semi-retired and putting my energy into creating up-cycled creations from discarded items. The onset of Covid finally granted me the time to constructing some of the ideas I'd had in my mind. This has resulted in a life re-focus, a gallery volume of creations, participation in a group exhibition as well as a solo exhibition.
My creations are based on vintage or antique objects sourced from various outlets including op shops, garage sales, auctions, as well as donations made directly to me. Most pieces have a semi-industrial feel elements, gravitating towards objects embodying both form and function from bygone eras, resonating deeply with my ethos of anti-waste.
I endeavour to preserve each item's narrative, even after refurbishment. I am not seeking a factory-fresh aesthetic, rather a character-rich presentation.
Each rescued piece undergoes meticulous deconstruction, cleaning, and, if necessary, refinishing, with a commitment to incorporating as many recycled materials as possible including nuts, bolts, screws, glass, and wood. The decision to 'up-cycle' an item hinges on its inability to logically serve its original purpose.
Overflowing with ideas as well as having a trove of collected artefacts, I'm compelled to continue crafting, offering a renewed and hopefully attractive, functional, lease on life to discarded items.
My creations are based on vintage or antique objects sourced from various outlets including op shops, garage sales, auctions, as well as donations made directly to me. Most pieces have a semi-industrial feel elements, gravitating towards objects embodying both form and function from bygone eras, resonating deeply with my ethos of anti-waste.
I endeavour to preserve each item's narrative, even after refurbishment. I am not seeking a factory-fresh aesthetic, rather a character-rich presentation.
Each rescued piece undergoes meticulous deconstruction, cleaning, and, if necessary, refinishing, with a commitment to incorporating as many recycled materials as possible including nuts, bolts, screws, glass, and wood. The decision to 'up-cycle' an item hinges on its inability to logically serve its original purpose.
Overflowing with ideas as well as having a trove of collected artefacts, I'm compelled to continue crafting, offering a renewed and hopefully attractive, functional, lease on life to discarded items.
*Please note artwork will not be shipped until after the 2024 Finalist Exhibition which ends in mid-October 2024.