Hürnum I (Hörnum)
Note : Hörnum is located on the southern tip of the island of Sylt, off the north coast of Germany.
When we look at the imaginology of islands, Sylt is a very interesting example of how parameters can shift. Whereas islands like Bali or Tahiti have always been seen as places of longing, Sylt was a remote little island in a sea defined by disaster and uncertainty.
The North Sea, a force of nature too strong to control, and the storms of winter, called der Blanke Hans, have always brought destruction and death to the local people … The islanders of Sylt, who were poor throughout the centuries and earned their living through subsistence farming or on board whaling ships, became renowned for felonious deeds. They lit huge fires on their beaches to lure ships to the rocks to shipwreck. The islanders then looted the ships and killed the sailors or took them hostage.
When Jean-Jacques Rousseau postulated his famous 'Back to Nature' there was still a long way to go before tourism was to become the major source of income for the island of Sylt. During the period of industrialisation the idea of a summer retreat became popular among Germans and a shipping line from Hamburg to Sylt was established. Today, tourists come to the Island in droves and although they may perceive the island as a paradise, the reality is very different.
The dichotomy between imagined and real space is Jaco van Schalkwyk´s point of departure. On Sylt, he was fascinated by the seascapes and by the forests of the island and its appropriation by so many artists before him.
The power of the sea and its destructive force is juxtaposed with the perception of holiday makers on the beach who have come to Sylt to live in a dream and deny reality.1
1. Indra Wussow, https://www.jacovanschalkwyk.co.za/portfolios/2015-eden-indra-wussow/
