Through January 10, 2021, RMT will display utopian landscapes made by Carlijn Kingma. Kingma does awe-inspiring and refined drawings that consist of architectural elements and structures. Her drawings – or maps, as she likes to call them – can be seen as imaginary landscapes in which she presents viewers with both the history and future of mankind’s most vital themes, such as utopia, capitalism and modernity.
Who are we and where do we come from? ‘For centuries, we have created maps in order to navigate the world’, says Carlijn Kingma. ‘We map objective information to determine where we are, where we come from and where we want to go. But the world around us becomes increasingly complex. In spite of numerous applications trying to guide us, we tend to feel and get lost sooner in this rapidly changing society.’ Therefore, Kingma thinks we need new maps. Being a true cartographer of modern-day society, she depicts humanity’s past and reflects on future possibilities.
Plea for utopia
The concept of utopia is an important theme in Kingma’s work and thought process. According to Kingma, representations of what our world could look like will eventually help humans shape their future. Specially in times like these, in which we are at a crossroads both ideologically and ecologically, inspiring future perspectives can help us navigate. Kingma is aware of criticism surrounding utopias, which states that a utopia will always eventually result in a dystopia. But a utopia is merely a set idea, not a reality, says Kingma. Instead, we ought to look at utopias as beacons for future times. When those future times gradually draw closer, we shall have to create a new utopia. That is why Kingma’s maps are always contemplative and nuanced, and capture multiple visions. In short, they sublimely capture the world’s complexity.
Collaborations
When creating new work, Carlijn Kingma always collaborates with other artists, architects, scientists and philosophers. Her most recent drawing The Fabric of Humankind, depicting humans’ mutual complex relationships, was the result of a collaboration with historian and journalist Rutger Bregman. His book Humankind: A Hopeful History was the starting point for this particular drawing, which will be on display for the very first time in Rijksmuseum Twenthe. Along with the drawing, sketches, notes, clippings, and everything else which contributed to the creation of this work of art will be exhibited.
About Carlijn Kingma
Carlijn Kingma (Zutphen, 1991) graduated from Delft University of Technology at the Faculty of Architecture. Her graduation project did not meet the long list of formal requirements, instead she decided on producing an animated film which creatively showcased fifty of her drawings. She got rewarded with an A. Moreover, her work was honored with a New Babylon Award, which celebrates TU Delft’s best graduation project concerning the intersection of design and architecture. Her work was then displayed in the Kunstmuseum Den Haag. In 2018, Kingma won the Architecture Drawing Prize, in the category hand-drawing. As a result, she got to exhibit her work in the Sir John Soane’s Museum in London, amidst work of her heroes, architect Piranesi, and architect and artist Joseph Gandy.
RMT buys Carlijn Kingma’s ‘The Fabric of Humankind
With the support of the Mondriaan Fonds, Rijksmuseum Twenthe has acquired the drawing The Fabric of Humankind, made by artist and cartographer Carlijn Kingma. The Fabric of Humankind is Kingma’s most recent work, now on display as part of our exhibition ‘Architecture of the unknown’.</p><p>By drawing maps of imaginary, utopian worlds, Kingma sheds light on invisible structures, mechanisms and organisations which define where we are today, and where we possibly go to. Her maps – filled with metaphors and symbolism – invite us viewers to wonder about sociopolitical histories, human ambition and grand ideas of the past and present. Kingma applies architecture’s metaphorical language, exemplified by her drawings of towers and tunnels, squares and silos, bridges and labyrinths, in order to construct her ideas.
The Fabric of Humankind
Kingma regards the history of humankind as an ongoing interweaving and disentangling of social networks and structures. Therefore, The Fabric of Humankind embodies a need for dependency and collaboration in order to steer towards a sustainable and inclusive future.
Collaboration with Rutger Bregman and The Correspondent
When creating new maps, Kingma always collaborates closely with writers, scientists and experiential experts. Her work The Fabric of Humankind resulted from a close collaboration with historian Rutger Bregman, and is partly based on his book Humankind: A Hopeful History. Together with journalist platform The Correspondent, Kingma developed a special website on which she digitally guides visitors through her detailed drawing.
