me
ARTIST STATEMENT
“Most of my work is made on discarded, maimed, cracked, affected, damaged, ruined, battered or torn canvases from unknown artists. Very useful for me cause I wanted to recreate them, give them a new life. What arises behind my easel is a dialogue with the work of an unknown painter. A dialogue between past and present, the known and the unknown. I’m recreating and reshaping the old canvases in a new order, giving the old life a new life by painting my scripted desires with oil, paint and acrylic and molding paste on those canvases. And not exclusively on canvases but also on found paper, postcards and other material like wood, plastics, old books and so on.”BIOGRAPHY“Atolty is a pseudonym. My real name is Rupert van Woerkom, former copywriter, magazine maker, creative director, and writer of countless scripts for television (Sesame Street), radio and two theatrical plays. The name Atolty is a tribute to my father who sent my mother postcards with an endearing note and always signed it ‘Atolty’. It was an acronym for ‘Across The Oceans Love To You’. I was raised in Curacao, one of the Netherlands’ Antilles in the Caribbean. During my formative years I took drawing and painting lessons, but couldn’t go to art school for the simple reason there wasn’t one on the island. Back in Holland I went to university, to study Art History and Literature. But after a few years I dropped out of university, to follow a career in writing, culminating in the art of magazine making. In recognition of national and international successes in making magazines I was even bestowed with the Mercur d’Or, the ultimate prize for outstanding creative work in the publishing world. During my media career I never stopped creating art, and created works with a genuine focus on conceptual and abstract art.”