Saar Scheerlings
A series of watercolour collages, sculptures and a throne are among the most recent props for a new, fictional culture that Scheerlings designs. Inspired by ethnographic collections in museums, textile crafts and construction methods, the work is a search for a sense of inspiration and meaning as we know it from ancient cultures and religious artefacts such as Talismans. For this collection Scheerlings mixes everyday forms and materials with traditional crafts, both from the Netherlands and other places in the world. For example, the shapes of the Talisman series are derived from unfolded tea boxes from the paper bin. The materials are mostly second-hand; the foam mattresses come from a bankrupt holiday park, the fabrics are remnants of theaters and fashion houses or old clothing from the thrift store, and an old sari was torn into strips to knot with.
In contrast to today’s fast and technological society, this work radically opts for accessibility through craftsmanship and everyday (also unexpected) material culture that can come from everywhere and therefore wants to be for everyone. The making process is unpredictable, because the making itself stands above a well-thought out step-by-step plan. Components can therefore always transform into a different form, a different material or scale, both autonomous or more functional.