“You take the red pill... you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes" – Morpheus (The Matrix)
In the movie The Matrix, the protagonist, Neo, will wake up from the illusion of life by taking the red pill. The illusion was created by a machine to keep humanity asleep. With zeros and ones -- the basis of computer-language, people are fooled.
That life is an illusion is believed in many places in the world. But is it a belief or a fact? It is obvious that we do not see the 'true reality'. A typical human eye responds to wavelengths of about 380 to 750 nanometers. In other words, what we see is limited. This idea can also be found in physics. When we look at nature, the patterns of sacred geometry are everywhere. Nature can be translated into a binary system, a world of zeros and ones.
What does the given illusion and systematic nature have to do with Rob Bouwman's paintings? To get an understanding it is important to know how he paints.
When we look at Rob Bouwman's paintings, the first impression may be like a digital image made with the computer. But that is not the case. The complex shapes and color transitions are so sophisticated that it is hard to believe they are real paint. Yet it is so. However, this paint is not applied with a brush. How does Rob Bouwman paint? The answer gives fingerpainting another dimension. He sometimes uses his fingers, sometimes other instruments to touch the paint. And the touch is crucial.
Rob Bouwman makes his paintings in one go. It is not possible to leave the painting overnight to think about the next steps. With precision and ultimate control, Rob Bouwman touches the paint and moves it across the surface. He caresses the paint, sometimes a little harder, sometimes a little softer, always with an interval. This physical act creates a mixing process, which is so sophisticated that it is reminiscent of digital images.
Rob Bouwman visualizes a matrix whosecode is already in nature. Fortunately, we can see and experience this matrix without taking any pill.