Ruth van Beek, The Oldest Thing, 2023

In the artist’s hands, images of banal objects become ‘matter in motion’, undergoing a process of deconstruction through which strange and ambiguous forms are discovered and brought into focus. In the constellations of images in the exhibition, a visual rhyme of ovals emerges, paying homage to the recurring tasks of everyday life and also revealing an enigmatic world that exists beyond it. The book presents numerous collages, archival images and paintings in a dazzling display of some 250 double pages. Among these images you will find seven poems by Van Beek’s long-time friend Basje Boer.