JONATHAN VAN DOORNUM: Dark There, Joyful Here

Jonathan van Doornum's sculptures, drawings and performances combine technology, communication and magic. He often makes his works out of aluminium. A cold material to which Van Doornum gives a soft, narrative power by shaping it into flames, curls or arches, for example. His imagery is influenced by both ancient, ceremonial objects and the most modern techniques. In this way, Van Doornum makes visible a poetic world in which the past, present and future exist simultaneously. Changing relationships run through them like a common thread.

The way we connect with each other has changed dramatically over the last century. Spirituality, religion and tradition have largely disappeared from our daily lives, leaving gaps that are being filled by technological inventions. As a result, our living environments are automatically becoming more and more functional, without the glamour we know from churches or medieval architecture. 5G masts are being erected instead of meeting places. Van Doornum's futuristic-looking sculptures reflect this; by combining digital aesthetics with ornamental details, his sculptures seem to emit signals from different times. His work can thus be seen as a countermovement to our digital revolution or as a call to connect in different or new ways.

_{Faithful Folly 2023 - Aluminium, coloured anodised aluminium and stainless steel parts - 600x300x190cm - Commissioned by Lustwarande for Eartheatres 2023.}

In his latest work, Van Doornum is primarily concerned with the relationship between town and country. The artist, who comes from Zwolle and was born in a rural municipality, knows that urban areas are traditionally often viewed from the countryside with a mixture of resentment and envy. This opposition between centre and periphery is centuries old, although the last elections show that this relationship is shifting. In his latest works, Van Doornum takes up many of the forms and motifs found in rural areas. To do this, he weaves familiar rural elements into his sculptures while giving them other connotations. With a plough whose hands look like those of office workers, he responds to the feeling of country life versus the city and vice versa. Here, Van Doornum is concerned with connecting places that are instinctively miles apart. For Van Doornum, the antenna, a device that connects places from a distance, is an important link between town and country: how can these two worlds come closer together and what can they learn from each other in the process?

_{Reaching for a silent signal - 2020-2023 - 2023 Aluminium, lace suit, metal parts, hammered paint and feathers. At Museum de Fundatie during Roosen & Guests.}

Jonathan van Doornum  (1987, Mariënberg, NL) lives and works in Zwolle. He obtained his Bachelor of Fine Art at ArtEZ in Zwolle and subsequently participated in several residencies in Europe, including at the Rijksakademie Amsterdam and Wiels in Brussels. His work has been shown in several group exhibitions, including Roosen & Guests (2023) at Kasteel het Nijenhuis. Van Doornum has had several solo exhibitions, including at Kunstvereniging Diepenheim, at Wiels in Brussels (BE) and most recently at SecondRoom in Antwerp (BE). Dark There, Joyful Here is his first museum solo exhibition as part of the Fundatie Future Factory, the laboratory of Museum de Fundatie. Here, multidisciplinary artists explore the heartbeat of time. Which themes will determine the future?