B.C. EPKER press

The Ruïns of the Battlefield
by Toos Arends

B.C. Epker draws landscapes. Sometimes they are uninhabited. Ceders grow between Greek ruins. In the distance we see a range of hills. All the time
there is something peculiar in these landscapes, because why is this giant
pineapple dominating the image pontifically? In another landscape a fir tree
and a vigorous herb compete for attention. Both are landscapes in which one
would take a walk as a spectator, just to encounter the uncommon phenomena
on the way... In none of these drawings people appear. These unoccupied landscapes come across as innocent places from beautifull dreams or fantasies.

Not all Epker's landscapes are idyllic. In "Frisia / Bannister Diamond" the Frisian landscape is combined with a painting of Thomas Scheibitz which is called after
a diamond. Through reflections on polished surfaces light enters the landscape....
The atmosphere in this drawing is almost apocalyptic. Completely different works
a landscape in which there are thorny shrubbes and bunkerly buildings. It is arid and alarming there. People have left their traces in the landscape, but there is no human being to be found. When B.C. Epker introduces human beings in the landscapes innocense is vanished. Then there is seduced, raped, suffered or fought. In a scenic background Greek Gods, Roman generals, famous writers or novel characters behold the dissoluted scenes and set their eyes upon the enacted. Sometimes they even participate in the degeneration of humanity. Don't we see Harry Mulish pulling out hairs from the head of a crucified person? It is a melting pot of images, contingencies, impulses, dreams and an unbridled fantasy. As a God Epker plays with the cultural range of thougts of humanity, his religions and myths, as well as with the flood of images which are being poured out over us daily. The results of this are at least remarkable.

Epker considers his life to be a huge landscape. In this landscape he traces tracks, like a predator follows the scent of wild. In this case the game is a selection of images and thoughts which penetrates his live through all sorts of media. With this chosen "wild" he gets to work. In this manner an advertising poster, a devotinal picture, a pornographic image, a repesentation of a work of art and his own experiences can yield a new image. Often these images are bewildering. Good and evil, beautiful and ugly everything loses its signification in these representations. What underlies, is a critical attitude towards existence and the norms and values which therein should count universally...

Translation by Berber Epker