Dutch visual artist Lydia Schouten (1948, Leiden) makes installations, videos, photo-based works, drawings and paintings. Her primary subject matter is the search for identity, analyzing her own personality through her social status, human relations and emotions. Her untitled photos are connected to a four-channel video installation, the Secret Garden: we can see people in nature who seem to be fleeing something. What initially appears to be an idyllic environment soon assumes a threatening character. Humans cannot be part of nature, the trees and the animals are assaulting them. The work blends reality with fiction (animation). With the computer manipulated photographs now presented, the artist creates situations that represent her own fears and anxieties. Nakedness makes her defenceless, frail. The mode of representation given to the natural elements intensifies the dramatic effect.
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New Acquisitions – Rarely Seen Works 13. March, 2009 – 14. June
The Ludwig Museum possesses a relatively small yet internationally significant collection of over 400 contemporary artworks. As the museum’s permanent exhibition is only able to show a small portion of the collection, we make an effort to present a fresh selection from time to time.