REVIEW  WORKSHOP  HARALD  SCHOLE  (NL)  organized  by  the  Kaman  Art  Foundation  

 

SOWING  SEEDS  2011  INTERNATIONAL  VILLAGE  RESIDENCY  GELAWAS,  INDIA  

 

 

Concept  of  Harald  Schole  :  a  tribute  to  water  

 

 

 ^ 18the century step well in Jodhpur ^ interior memorial Jaswant Thada, Jodhpur

old water well and fish pound, Gelawas new water reservoir, during the dry season, Gelawas

 

His  work  statement  

Positive  and  negative  are  opposites,  and  also  complementary.  With  Tribute,  Harald  

Schole  wants  to  show  us  the  balance  between  the  contrasts.  Besides  that,  he  combines  

his  Western  or  global  concepts  with  the  local  possibilities.  

Every  year,  Rajasthan  faces  the  problem  of  a  deficiency  of  water  and,  sometimes  even  

the  lack  of  clean  water.  In  the  dry  season,  for  months  no  rain  is  falling  and  rivers  run  dry.  

In  the  Netherlands,  in  contrary,  there  is  plenty  of  water.  For  a  country  that  produces  so  

many  vegetables,  fresh  and  clean  water  is  of  great  importance.  But  there  is  something  

else.  The  Netherlands  is  situated  bellow  sea-­‐level.  The  Dutch  therefore  need  to  be  well  

protected  against  a  too  high  sea  level  and  flooded  rivers.  

So,  water  possesses  a  good  and  an  evil  side.  

These  opposite  characteristics  of  water  are  represented  in  this  temporary  installation.  

The  Indian  river  of  Ganges  is  a  holy  river.  Schole  has  chosen  to  visualise  this  river.    

The  curves  of  the  river  of  Ganges  are  drawn  on  the  temple  floor  both  in  actual  and  

mirrored  shape,  from  the  source  of  the  river  in  the  Himalayas  till  the  estuary  in  

Bangladesh.  

Beautifully  coloured  lines  of  fabric  are  connecting  these  two  images  of  the  Ganges.    

There  are  eight  lines,  representing  the  eight  times  you  can  or  maybe  have  to  decide  

between  good  and  bad.  The  figure  ‘8’  symbolises  infinity,  comparable  with  the  water  of  

the  river,  also  a  continuous  flow,  from  the  mountains  to  the  sea  to  her  source  in  the  

mountains.  Like  a  continue  cycle  of  life.  

Tribute  is  put  together  with  locally  available,  recycled  materials.  With  a  few  kids,  he  was  

collecting  fabrics  lying  around  the  houses,  when  the  artist  was  invited  in  one  of  the  

houses.  In  exchange  for  some  pictures  and  stories  about  his  country,  the  villagers  gave  

him  a  bag  full  of  colourful  leftovers  of  cloth  for  his  artwork.  For  some  days,  Harald  

Schole  was  working  intensively.  And  from  these  small  pieces  of  cloth,  he  made  over  

twenty  meters  of  colourful,  decorated  ribbons.  Knotting  the  pieces  of  fabric  was  a  very  

meditative  activity  and  his  personal  tribute.    

Schole  could  not  directly  find  a  proper  location  for  the  work.  One  morning,  he  made  a  

walk  through  the  village  and  visited  the  temple  near  the  village  square.  By  coincidence,  

he  met  the  priest  of  the  temple  and  they  had  a  small  chat.  He  explained  his  proposal  for  

the  Sowing  Seeds  project.  And  then,  the  priest  offered  him  to  do  the  temporary  

installation  in  the  temple.  He  choses  the  place  were  water  is  collected  in  a  subterranean  

reservoir.  Schole  felt  honoured  and  happy  as  the  art  piece  had  found  its  beautiful  site-­‐

specific  location  in  a  natural  way.      

 ^ detail work in process

 

Experience:  

The  residency  in  Gelawas  can  be  characterised  as  short,  intensive  and  filled  with  

hospitality.  

The  organisation  and  the  villagers  were  very  open  and  collaborative.    He  learned  much  

about  the  culture  of  Rajasthan,  but  maybe  the  (young)  villagers  were  even  able  to  learn  

more  then  the  participants  of  the  residency.    

He  would  have  liked  to  have  more  time  to  better  learn  to  know  the  craftsmen  in  the  

village.  The  craftsmen  were  usually  very  busy.    

For  the  children,  it  was  holiday  period.  They  had  time  enough.    

The  numbers  of  ceramic  horses  and  their  size  the  potter  is  producing  each  year  

impressed  him.  In  his  spare  time  the  potter  is  also  a  dancer  and  a  wonderful  performer  

with  a  fast  turning  wheel  on  his  shoulder.    

To  discover  the  culture  of  the  village  and  the  habits  of  the  villagers,  he  would  have  

preferred  to  have  more  time.  Schole  was  glad,  he  had  been  in  Rajasthan  a  year  before,  

which  gave  him  in  some  way  a  familiar  feeling.    

Before  going  to  Gelawas  he  had  decided  not  to  bring  any  materials  from  The  

Netherlands  to  the  village.  He  did  not  want  to  import  art  materials  from  The  West  to  

India.  The  constraint  of  material  was  my  well-­‐considered  way  to  take  his  time  and  

explore  the  village  and  the  culture  of  Rajasthan  which  finally  resulted  in  an  art  piece  of  

which  he  would  never  have  thought  to  use  so  much  colour  and  fabric  in  it.    

 ^ drinking-bowl for peacocks, Gelawas well courtyard temple, Gelawas

 

 He  realised  that  a  tool  for  exchange  of  experiences  and  visualisation  of  the  collaboration  

with  the  villagers  more  directly  could  be  valuable.  It  could  give  something  in  return  to  

the  villagers.    

One  could  think  of  a  musical  instrument,  but  for  him  as  visual  artist,  he  was  thinking  of  a  

small  instant  photo  studio.  Maybe  with  crazy,  fantastic  backgrounds  with  a  mixture  of  

Indian  gods  and  goddesses  and  also  with  the  landscape  of  a  land  that  is  situated  far  

below  sea-­‐level.  

 

 installation Tribute in temple courtyard, Gelawas drawing by Gabriella Hirst

 

Harald  Schole’s    conclusion:  I  really  felt  at  home  in  my  canopy  and  I  know  that  

Gelawas  will  be  another  home  forever.  

 

Amsterdam  2012