2018 Bridges Conference

RAM-8 Groep

Artists

RAM-8 Groep

Self-supported plastician artists: Anusch Bayens, Carlo De Pauw, Carmen Geens, Mark Pieters, Marianne Staels, André Thomas, Alex Van Bogaert, Samuel Verbiese.

'RAM-8 Groep' local artist collective

Overijse, Belgum

alex.vanbogaert@skynet.be

http://gallery.bridgesmathart.org

https://sites.google.com/site/ram8groep/

Statement

After Enschede 2013, Seoul 2014, Baltimore 2015, Finland 2016 and Waterloo 2017 Bridges Exhibits (see details on the first 4 instances in conference papers 'Bridges Exhibits as Incentives for Collaborative Works', I, in 2015, and II in 2016), the Belgian 'RAM-8 Groep' artists collective confided its sixth collaborative sculpture design to Carmen, this year's team-member in charge of the overall project idea. She devoted her signature 'organic' style to mimick in a metaphorical way a natural setting involving decorated shapes as flower hearts constituting the personal member contributions imbedded in a 'flowerbed' developed and built with hints from all colleagues by Alex, Carlo, and Carmen.

Artworks

Image for entry 'Happy flowerbed'

Happy flowerbed

75 x 88 x 88 cm

MDF, cartonboard, steel, paints and Venetian glass

2018

In accordance with Carmen's 'organic wanderings' (all quoted texts here emphasize this...), '+/- explicit' (basic) geometrical and numerical math occurs in the work as follows. An octagonal ground plate 'hides its nature' under the same-shaped base foliage of 8 'almost' vertical cylindrical flower stems of heights 'dissimulating' first Pi decimals, with their 'hand sawn' annular crowns placed 'about' radially and turning their polyhedral decorated hearts 'randomly' upwards around, their axes 'not necessarily' vertical. Even the slight 'dents' endured by the whole thing tumbling down during its move to a small nature-induced 'irregular' spot in Carmen's perfect lawn are considered as cherished parts of the overall 'serendipity'.