Atelier van Lieshout, 'Veelhoofd', 2010 foto: Stroom Den Haag
Atelier van Lieshout, 'Many Heads', 2010
Atelier van Lieshout, Many Heads, 2010
Center The Hague: Spui - Grote Marktstraat - Kalvermarkt
Are they skulls or potato-like heads? That’s what you wonder when you look from a distance at the stack of aluminum forms standing on one of the pedestals in the center of The Hague. Even up close, it remains unclear.
This pedestal sculpture, Many Heads, was created by Atelier Van Lieshout, the internationally renowned studio of artist Joep van Lieshout (1963). He runs his studio in the Rotterdam port area like a business and employs around twenty people. Atelier Van Lieshout produces all the sculptures, furniture, mobile homes, and stage sets that Van Lieshout conceives. Characteristic of the often groundbreaking designs of Atelier Van Lieshout is the use of polyester, sprayed in striking colors ranging from neon green and bright orange to muddy brown.
Many of Van Lieshout’s works address themes of power and labor, politics and revolution, and self-sufficient societies. He is also fascinated by humanity and the systems it builds, as well as classic subjects such as life and death. His sculptures and installations show us the effects of our increasingly efficient society while providing insight into how we, as individuals, can navigate or escape from it.
Van Lieshout’s designs are as unorthodox as they are critical and provocative. For example, SlaveCity (2005-2009) offers a glimpse into a utopian society where maximum profit is the goal, and Foodmaster (2009) depicts an extreme consequence of our industrialized food production. This artwork presents a system where even human flesh is processed into food.
In addition to these larger series, often made of polyester, Van Lieshout also works on smaller-scale pieces, frequently in bronze or aluminum. The pedestal sculpture Many Heads fits into this category. Van Lieshout is never entirely clear about the meaning of his works. It seems to be more of a collection of associations: skulls, potato eaters, sugar beets, Halloween masks.