World Fine Art Professionals and their Key-Pieces, 501 - Henri van Noordenburg

World Fine Art Professionals and their Key-Pieces, 501 – Henri van Noordenburg
I spoke with Henri van Noordenburg at his exhibition ‘Time of the Signs’ in Gallery WM. At the opening, a week earlier, he had already told us a few things about his work. This time he talks about it again and during the interview he will make a new work of art. I am witnessing a historical event!
Henri van Noordenburg (1967) is a Dutch-Australian artist. He was born in Amersfoort, lived for a while in Putten and then ended up in Spakenburg.
In 1991 he emigrated to Australia. Henri: “In 1988 I had been there for 10 months on holiday. To pay for the trip I had worked in the hospitality industry for a long time. It was a challenge. Would I make it? Things are going well now. I have built up an artistic career and have become well-known. That took some effort because the Australian art infrastructure is not as widespread as the Dutch one.”
Van Noordenburg makes images of landscapes, often it is a stormy sea, but it can also be a mountainous area, sometimes it can be both at the same time. People rarely appear in them. Sometimes you recognize trees and leaves, but they are not of a specific kind.

What is his work about?
Henri: “It’s about vulnerability. Vulnerability of humanity and nature. Climate change has a huge impact. Not only in Australia, but worldwide; there are increasingly big storms, floods and forest fires.” References to these types of severe weather and natural disasters are clearly visible in Van Noordenburg’s work. The power of water is central. This varies from thundering waterfalls and wild oceans to the silences of or after the storm. These references can also be found in the music that Henri plays and literally moves to create his work (Max Richter’s “Exiles” is a good example of this). The rhythm, melancholy and timbre dictate the tone, tint and intensity of each individual work.

In addition, his art carries Henri through life. The depiction of water also serves as a metaphor for the ebb and flow of mental health. If natural disasters (often instigated by humans) have direct repercussions on you, as happens all too often in Australia, it not only has a direct impact on your financial situation, but also on your mental state. “I see it with acquaintances and friends. My closest friend has a mental health issue. By supporting him, I have learned a lot – I have come to look at psychological and physical pain differently. I have also gone through a journey of self-discovery. My most important reason for making work is that I have learned to find peace in the creative process and in this way also create peace in my mind.”

The beginning
Henri starts working with black inkjet prints that he processes manually, with a knife, or with sandpaper. He puts on music and quickly gets into a certain rhythm, he lets himself be guided by what is happening at that moment. It is also a surprise for him. The larger the print format, the more physical it becomes. “I started with a knife out of frustration. I came back from a presentation of my work at the (art) school that was not appreciated so much and I started scratching my photo work with knives at home. When I got rid of my aggression, I was very surprised that I had not gone through the paper. Then I started using it as a method: first remove things, later draw with a knife. That was in 2008.”

At the Queensland College of Art and Design in Brisbane he studied Photography, specifically documentary photography. During his studies he made reports about blue collar workers on land and at sea. For example, he captured Australian cowboys in an area of ​​138,000 hectares in a period of 18 weeks, usually sitting on a horse. The cowboys were busy with sheep (30,000) and cows (10,000). “It was very hot, on the hottest day it was 42 degrees. Try to handle your camera properly – sitting on the horse, that ain’t easy.” At sea he embarked on a trawler in Bass Strait near Tasmania. He lived and documented the life of the fishermen. “It reminded me of Dutch films like Sil de Strandjutter.”
In addition to making artwork, he has a permanent job, in the arts sector, at the Arts Administration Facility of the Queensland Art Gallery in Brisbane. “I let exhibitions tour around the state. I work there five days a week. I make my artwork before or after work, on weekends, during holidays.”

Henri creates a work of art
The music of Joep Beving ‘Hermetism’ plays. Henri wipes the sharp fold of a piece of sandpaper over a 20 x 20 cm inkjet print. A line becomes a mountain, a wave? Stronger waves appear. More white appears at the top of a water wave, foam? The first piece of music is over. A second piece of music follows. Also by Beving, ‘Mark’. He starts working on the ‘sky’ at the top. It becomes a bit grey there. He doesn’t mind that he has gone a bit outside the lines. A grey sky appears with some white in the sky. A cloud? The music ends. The work is done.
That reminds me of a traumatic event for him, which he talked about in a film accompanying the exhibition. He had gone swimming at the Gold Coast and was sucked into the sea. Because of the high waves, he could no longer see land for a moment. “A rip sucks you into the ocean. Luckily, I was told what to do and I was able to swim myself out of a very frightening emergency. Fortunately, I did not panic and had the sense to swim parallel to the land, as calmly as possible. Eventually I reached land again. The monumental work Composition C: One Stroke at a Time (2023) is a direct reference to that event. It took me three months to make it.”

We make a round
On the left on the wall hangs a whole series of squares of 40 x 40 cm. Together they form one work, and it is a key work too. They are seascapes, but can also be landscapes, they can be hung upside down if desired and possibly presented differently, for example as a block next to and under each other.
“I make one work a day. In the time of two pieces of music. At a certain point, when you are working, you know how long the music will last. I made 260. Each set consists of 78 works. For each set I listen to an album by a contemporary, classical composer.”

He notes the date, time and the coordinates of where the work was made on the back. All of these works are called Composition XXI. A friend of his chooses a tarot card for each work. “A tarot card tells something about your life, your strengths and weaknesses. It gives guidance on what to do. It helps him with his mental health.”
He takes just as long to work on the larger format as he does on the small format. He is more physically active at the larger format.
He does this every day, since March 6, 2024. He makes other (kinds of) works in between. At the moment he is working on four works.
In the back room of the gallery the works have more dynamics. Again mountains and sea, at least that is what you can see in them. “I don’t really look back. I just get on with it. I discovered that I could show some works, made at different times, next to each other, they are so similar.” It is nice that you can occasionally see the hand (the thumbprint) of the artist in the work.
He spent three months on the impressive large work of 1 x 1.50 meters to music by Arvo Pärt. He applied extra ink in certain places.

How long has he been an artist?
“I graduated as an undergraduate from Queensland College of Arts in Brisbane in 1997. This was followed by a course in creative writing. I eventually graduated with a Masters in Photography & Theatre with a One-Man Theatre Production in which I played the lead role.” It was only after he had completed his studies and done an Artist in Residency in Estonia that he felt comfortable enough to call himself an artist. That was in 2008.

What is his experience of art life?
“For everything you do, you need passion and willpower. You have to believe in yourself. Know why you are making a work. You expose yourself to everyone who sees it. You tell your own life story that is different from that of other people. The most important thing is that I like doing it. Working alone with music on, with the dog always lying next to me – it is fantastic. I am very involved with other artists. It is nice to belong to an arts community, to have friends around you who deal with art. You support each other.
I was lucky: I landed on my feet, I have a good job in the arts. But I also enjoy seeing other colleagues succeed.”

Finally, what is his philosophy?
“My father said: ‘there is often darkness in your work’. I see what he means. My work is about the way we deal with nature. Why should I make rosy scenes when we are dealing with climate change and mental health? In the end, nature wins. My work is about the current situation in the world. As long as it affects people, that is the most important thing.”
Images
1)Composition CXI The Devil XV The Emperor Ace of Swords, 2) 73 Composition CXI Max Richter deck. TEN of PENTACLES, 3) Composition CXI The Devil XV The Emperor Ace of Swords, 4) In a square, 5) Composition C 2023, 6) 8 Composition CXI Max Richter deck. The Moon XVIII, 7) 10 Composition CXI Max Richter deck. The Emperor IV, 8) 29 Composition CXI Max Richter deck. FOUR of SWORDS, 9) 46 Composition XLVI. 2019, 10) 51 Composition LI 2020 – 2021

 

https://www.hvn.com.au/
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https://gallerywm.com/WP/henri-van-noordenburg-australia-photography-01-09-30-09-2023/
https://inzaken.eu/2024/12/19/henri-van-noordenburg-toont-de-kwetsbaarheid-van-de-natuur-en-de-mens/