LUIZAERC

LUIZAERC, the name of this artwork, means nothing, it is a fantasy word. Nick Ervinck, the creator of the image, consciously chooses self-invented titles for his work. This means you won’t find a meaning for it on Google, and his work can never get a wrong connotation.

Ervinck was born in the Belgian city of Roeselare in 1981 and is a typical child of the digital revolution. When he finished playing with LEGO, he got a computer and threw himself into games like Sim City, which allowed him to create his own worlds in no time. Ervinck graduated with a master’s degree in Mixed Media from the Ghent Royal Academy of Fine Arts in 2003.

Ervinck merges technology and nature into a perfect, futuristic world. He combines traditional sculpture with new media. The motifs he uses are taken from the existing world, which he then adapts to his own taste.

Ervinck became known to a wider audience through his bright yellow polyester creations in public spaces. Ever since he asked his parents to dress him in yellow clothes as a toddler, yellow has been his favourite colour. In his own words: “I really feel that the colour yellow plays on my mood. Yellow keeps me active and alive. There is far too little colour in the world.”

The statue of LUIZAERC at de Barones is four metres high. You can recognise archaeological finds such as helmets, armour, busts and columns, but you will also discover new shapes. The image is both fascinating and a little scary. Although it appears very robust, it also has a certain transparency due to the many holes and open spaces.

The antique-looking plinth is in sharp contrast to the science fiction-like image. LUIZAERC seems to be the guardian of a mysterious sanctuary.