Perhaps a short explanation of the various collections and the reason behind making this work is appropriate here.

 

In 2009 I wrote a book about the mental quest and the pursuit of perfection in two decades of competitive golf. This autobiography is about inspiration, mood and success. I tell about my life as a golfer and the road I travelled. The people I met and learned from. For many readers a recognizable journey full ups and downs.

 

In 2014 I came up with the Moment Of Truth (MOT) Golfswing Platform with an American colleague. You start from your impact position, 0, and return where you started. It is a little bit like entering a time machine. You dial in the digits and you get a glimpse of the future. The MOT technique is easier and more reliable. But I quit and only play with my dad, my cousin and former caddies seven times a year.

 

In the paintings I make of golfers I show this starting position based on coordinates. Legendary golfers like Ben Hogan, Sam Snead and Arnold Palmer frozen at the Moment of Truth. Twisted Minkey, the monkey that NASA launched into space, is also an avid golfer. You see him floating in space sometimes above the players head. Why the monkey? Well you sure feel like one when you address the ball this way, twisted facing your target at an angle of 45 degrees. It works.

 

During a family vacation in New York in 2017, a slender skyscraper caught my eye. The eighty-five story building at 432 Park Avenue is 426 meters high and 28.36 meters wide. 15 times higher than its width. Every 12 floors the architect omitted the windows on the next two floors to allow the wind to flow through. I think that is super cool and clever. I could not take my eyes and thoughts away from that building. That is why I have made a number of works inspired by these empty spaces without which this beauty could not remain upright.

 

Playing the Asian Tour in the early 90's I visited India many times but in 2008 for the first time with my youngest sister Mireille, this time without my clubs. During an initiation ceremony I was given the Sanskrit name Swami Dhyan Akash. I didn't know what that meant and why that name was given to me. I decided to start an investigation. 

 

I had learned about an ancient meditation technique after reading Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda in 1988 when I lived in California as a college student. After graduation I followed his bi-weekly lessons which were send by post. It was not until 2015, 27 years later, that I found out exactly how to practice this sacred and age-old path of meditation called Kriya Yoga.

 

Swami means master, Dhyan means meditation and Akash air, vacuum, ether or empty space. Hence my fascination for empty spaces and inner silence. The work that is on display here has been made from 2015 until today. I hope this information helps you when viewing the work. Seven year investigating the invisible. Enjoy the view and the feeling. I hope you like it.

 

Kind regards,

 

Joost Steenkamer