Detail of ‘Island Hotel’

Children admire their work from Workshop

Dutch artist, Harald Vlugt presents his installation Island Hotel – A Journey Without a Traveller (The Main Gallery) at CCA7, Centre for the Contemporary Arts, from Wednesday 24th January – Wednesday 7th February 2001.

Island Hotel is an installation of a map of the southern Caribbean, enlarged by Harald Vlugt, and painted by hand. The map was then cut into 396 segments; 187 segments showed land and the remaining 209 showed blue water. This project began in February 2000, at the start of a 3-month artist-in-residence in Aruba. The segments of land were each pasted on to an envelope, which Vlugt addressed to himself, care of ‘Island Hotel’ (so that they should be returned to him as undeliverable), and then sent throughout the south Caribbean islands. A red dot on the envelopes would indicate the town or village to which the envelope was sent.

Using the large number of envelopes, which were returned, Vlugt has to a great extent been able to reconstruct the map of the Caribbean. These envelopes are estimated, collectively, to have travelled almost three times around the world. Decorating most of the envelopes are comments, notes, suggestions, stickers and such. Unwitting contributors to Vlugt’s project were about 10,000 postal workers, and from the ‘open spaces’ in the map, it demonstrates how the postal system works in the southern Caribbean.

Harald Vlugt will be hosting two (2) Saturday workshops, on the 27th January, and the 3rd February. One workshop is targeted to children, between the ages of 8 - 14, and the other to young artists. The workshops are free.
Children (8 – 14) will first tour the exhibition with the artist, and talk about his work. Vlugt has brought maps with him, from Holland, so that each participant can then create their own fantasy map, by making collages with the maps, paint and glue. Young artists are invited to discuss the concepts and techniques used by Vlugt for ‘Island Hotel’, and then create their own collages.

The workshops are inspired by Vlugt’s current exhibition ‘Island Hotel – A Journey without a Traveller’ which is on display in The Main Gallery.

The Workshops will be sponsored by The Netherlands Embassy, Port of Spain.

Island Hotel – A Journey Without a Traveller was displayed in the Main Gallery at CCA7 from
Wednesday 24th January - Wednesday 7th February 2001.

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