“From the moment we are born until death, we are constantly creating and storing memories. But as time goes by, our memories and physical bodies will change or completely fade away. It is these contradictions and fleetingness of beauty which I find interesting.”
Regardt Van Der Meulen
Regardt Van Der Meulen is a South African, artist and sculptor based in Johannesburg who creates deconstructed metal sculptures. His fragmented steel creations play with themes of “time, memory, and mortality” and are ironic manifestations of the fragility of human life. Though crafted from steel these disintegrating forms seem as though they are transient and could be carried away at any moment.
“My work is inspired by time, memory and mortality. I am intrigued by not only the decay of human life but also the erosion of our surroundings. Through all stages of birth, growth, fruition and death the inevitable element of decay and mortality is present. People habitually live with a misled sense of security, the illusion that our environment or civilisation is dependable and static. Often times the dangers and violence of the current world we live in interrupts and the illusion of safety is exposed. The sculptures are metaphors for not only the vulnerability of one's physical body but also one's emotional and mental state. I used steel as a medium which is usually associated with the impression of unmoving strength. I sculpted each figure in a way that creates the notion that they are incomplete, melting or being pulled apart, deconstructed by a force either from within or without.” Regardt Van Der Meulen
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