Lobby Project: Edmond van der Bijl

For Edmond van der Bijl, everyday materials are often overlooked. The public’s familiarity with
these quotidian objects desensitizes them to their visual and physical presence as they fade
into the background of our lives. Seeking out and reinventing these objects is the guiding force behind van der Bijl’s work. He starts with a series of simple elements and transforms them through pattern and repetition into a greater cohesive whole.

In You Don’t Actually Think…, pizza boxes were used to create a grid from which letters are carved out, spelling out the phrase “You don’t actually think anybody is going to read this, do you? Well, maybe at the opening, but don’t forget, at the end of the day, this is just art in a lobby.” Although this statement stands alone, the grid creates a relationship between the individual boxes and additional words emerge from within the piece, much like a game or a puzzle. The self-conscious statement whimsically challenged the viewers expectations of art, what it’s made of, and where it’s seen.