He always had a natural curiosity,wondering why things are the way they are. Seeing an airplane fly,reading about the war and hearing of people went to the moon triggered him to play with LEGO or draw everything he could think of and more.
So going to a school for commercial design and after that the art academy seemed the logical steps to take in life. And now he is building stuff like always, but now it's more serious.
First of all,with his knowledge about art history and visual communication he has a solid base from wich to approach his work. Then being inspired by the world of global politics, mass media, industry and the military he goes to work. This inspiration results into hard objects, which are full of symbolism (both false and true),that gets rearranged in order to create new meanings or a different personal perspective.
Part of these objects only exist because they got started as found objects, like broken statues or old toys. Then being altered by adding stuff or taking parts away. All this is done to let the resulting artwork communicate an original,new story.
Other objects are build completely from the ground up. Extreme lengths are taken to give these objects an industrial look, as if they were produced in a big factory rather then by a single person in his studio.
There is also a strong hint of functionality incorporated into it, as if they have a practical purpose in the real world, and with that further confusing the true purpose:
Communicating a thought,story,memory or theory.
For these reasons they are not instantly recognizable as being works of art.
By rearranging the correlation between form and function, he is playing with the parameters of our own expectation and thereby showing us the limitations of our own perspective.
All this work is done to ask questions about the influence mass media and politics, as well as human nature itself have on our perception and world view. This being a somewhat heavy subject, matter, it's better to find a way to cover this via a slightly lighter or even humoristic way. By doing this, there is often an extra layer of meaning added to the pure analytical narritve.
The world is becoming evermore complex, and therefore the job of an artist more challenging and interesting.
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location exhibition area;
Stationsdwarsstraat 1+3,Sittard
Studio/atelier
Parklaan 4
6131KG Sittard
06-21915388
marco.wit@home.nl
Adress for mail
pelserstraat 16,
6041JT Roermond
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There is something about the way modern weapons look.
A jet fighter,a drone or a gun,
They look effective,and their outer appearance alone can command revulsion and fear,
But it can also trigger a feeling of warmth or admiration by the people who use it or are protected by it.
That is why everyone is always waiting for the space-battle scene in a science-fiction movie.
these aspects just put me to work,trying to grasp the essence of what seems to be a kids' romantic view of deadly objects,and smoothly glossing over their true purpose.
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Knowing that something like a letter or a package is making its way towards you,and then thinking of how it is doing that was the inspiration for me to build this Heaven transport.
Wouldn't it be great when everybody had their own customized autonomous vehicle doing this job,almost like pet animal?
Being selected for participation in a project where all artists were asked to
'fill' a personal wooden box (1/5th. scale standard container) which would travel the length of the Rhine river,it gave me the green light to make such a carrier of most important things.
A slice of an enormous ship as big as a city block,dangerously looming to one side.
It used to be part of a proud sea-going vessel,but now only this piece remains,
strongly resembling a tombstone...
That being so,it is still there,and like the ruins of some ancient religious
building,is perhaps saying something about today's religion: capitalism!
Sometimes an object has a shape that is instantly recognizable as iconic.
For instance the Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum.
Not just a tool or weapon,but in a way the visual carrier of an entire ideology.
The only strange thing in this instance is there are dozens of differing ways to see this ideology; idolization of violence and a sign of oppression.
But on the flipside,also freedom,or the protection from oppression.
This is a time where a lot of stable factors are shifting,and confusion is one of the results.
As a result this object is screaming loudly by means of its shape,but the message gets confused and muddled by the fact that it has turned pink.
As a little kid,growing up next to an airforce base,i drove around on my bike,pretending to be one of the pilots flying their sleek and perfectly shaped jet aircraft over my house.
Man was i good at dreaming...
When at home i used to build the things i saw around me,being plastic model kits,lego (off course),but even from scratch by using cardboard or clay.
I was good at building things too...
Looking at my life now,and the job i bestowed upon myself i notice that i never changed very much from myself at that age,and how intensively i was looking at the world around me.
Nowadays i don't really choose what i am going to make,which always surprises me,a week or so after i started working on something new.
This was never more the case as was with this object,only later on i realized it is actually a dreamy look back into my childhood,when i was learning to fly..
Three sweet little angels,how much can they tell us about ourselves?
New things can spark both curiousness as well as caution;will the 'new' enhance our identitiy or break it apart. When for instance the internet and jet engines replace older technology the resistance is low. On the other hand,a different hair and eye color could be met with suspicion.
But what if the positive change we crave is brought to us by others from far away,who look different and have alternative customs?
Will we adapt to one thing which we like and not the part we fear will replace our 'positive' customs?
Influence can be both good or bad. On top of that ,it's a matter of perspective.
One true thing is that this is how it has always been,and probably always will be!
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Big,bad block on the road,pushing and crushing badass with a badge.
You know,after having built several objects on wheels that look like they have a true usefulness in society,it suddenly dawned on me why i made objects like this one.
These 'vehicles' might very well be my alter egos,making no apologies as to their right of existence and traveling to distant corners to represent me,like ambassadors,contractors and soldiers.
An expression of various different aspects of my character and personality.
Taking this theory further,this object must be a personification of my nasty side;
every now and then i tend to be stubborn,arrogant and condescending...
...glad to be human,and pleased to turn one of my personality-trades into
an object which cannot be ignored.
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This world's reality is getting more complicated every day,and because of this we often anesthetize ourselves with game and entertainment. All very understandable,but this tendency beholds the danger of confusion between harsh reality and the artificial world.
Like in a sports match,strong symbols and colors are worn to differentiate between 'our team' and 'the enemy'. (This exact same thing is happening in the real world,the only difference is this time everyone risks being losers in the end).
In the real world the 'enemy' is often not foreign but homegrown,and therefore the obvious difference between 'right' and 'wrong' is unclear to see. On the front,a Frenchman is a Frenchman,an American is an American...off course. On the flipside these 'fronts' don't always depict the true identity; subversion in its purest form and deadly when anesthetized.
Info coming soon...
