Rini Hurkmans
The work of Rini Hurkmans mainly deals with the concepts of absence and loss, in relation to ethics and politics. In her artistic practice she explores how an artwork can raise ethical questions in society.
Her research into the press photo of the moment just after Michelangelo’s Pietà (1499) was attacked in 1972 serves as the starting point for her new work, which also builds upon earlier work inspired by this photo since she acquired it in 1992. Hurkmans made, among others, a black and white photo series under the title Pietà. For this series she made a self-portrait every two years for 18 years, from 1992 to 2009.
In the latest exhibition Pietà, A Reconsideration of the Gesture, she presents works that she developed during her working period as Artist in Residence at the Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome (KNIR). When the Pietà in the St. Peter’s Basilica was attacked by Laszlo Toth, he destroyed the left arm. Consequently, the initial gesture that reaches out to the public to engage with the theme of the Pietà was annihilated. In her current work, Hurkmans investigates the multi-interpretability of the press photo and the gesture, reconsidering the gesture in all its forms.
Since 2002 Hurkmans developed the ongoing conceptual artwork Flag of Compassion. The Flag is a symbol of the notion of compassion with which everyone can share their own understanding of compassion. The artwork consists out of various elements: the word ‘compassion,’ an instrument ‘the Flag,’ a Manifesto, a foundation managing the artwork ‘the Unda Foundation,’ a distribution network and a website. www.flagofcompassion.com
See the publication:
Compassion. A Paradox in Art and Society. Valiz, 2017.
fragment Forms of Loss 2020 ©rinihurkmans
Pietá 1995, 1995©rinihurkmans
Flag of Compassion, 2008©undafoundation
During the exhibition Blossom at art gallery Lumen Travo seven copies of the Flag of Compassion are installed on the façade of the building at the Lijnbaansgracht in Amsterdam.
A Reconsideration of the Gesture, 2020©rinihurkmans
Seeing the Scene (number 3), 2020©rinihurkmans