Rini Hurkmans – The Flag of Compassion
The video work and sculpture of Rini Hurkmans provide a counterweight to harsh reality. In her work, she responds to the treat and effect of violence in the world around her, searching for a solution in art: for a ÔhomeÕ that offers solace. This home, or Homeland as it is called in several works, is a shelter that rises above the private domain. It is a sanctuary for human desires and memories, which in the chaos of existence are at risk to disappear or be destroyed by violence.
In 2002, Hurkmans started a long-running project, which closely ties in with her other autonomous work. She made a special flag, independent of political, religious, social or cultural institutions, upholding a value, which is lacking in the world. Her Flag of Compassion (2002-ungoing), white with a wavy, yellow-gold horizontal bar, is a symbol of human empathy.
The flag is based on such notions as empathy, compassion, loss and absence. By conceptualizing a flag as an art work within a social context and as an instrument, the artist gives the concept of compassion a visual form which can exist within visual art and raise questions about the term in the broadest sense of the world. This is precisely because the concept of compassion can occupy an independent position and retain action groups and other 'interested parties'.
Ine Gevers, catalogue Niet Normaal, Difference on Display, 2009, NAI Publishers
