MAUD VAN DEN BEUKEN

The artistic practice of Maud van den Beuken (NL, 1993) investigates the geographic data of the Earth (object) in relation to the volume of the human being (subject). Her practice is characterized by an investigative attitude as a field worker who measures, scans and defines. She is interested in how we understand the land under our feet and the sky above our heads.

She often collaborates with experts and engineers from the scientific field. From 2015 - 2018 she worked with cartographer F. Joosten in order to make a map of the sky. She traveled to eight different coordinates on land and sea to meet the satellite, which orbits at an altitude of 705 km. In a recent project (2017 – 2020) she worked on a study in which she followed two rivers on foot: the Kaveri in India and on the other side of the Earth the Mississippi in the United States. While the river in India was completely dried out, she scanned the Mississippi river bottom underwater using 3D sonar technology in collaboration with a dredging company she worked with. By milling out the 3D model, she duplicated a cross-section of the Mississippi river bottom, from bank to bank on a one to one scale.

Her work manifests itself within the arts through installations, sculptures, videos, interventions and sound, as just as much she explores different areas such as the cartographic archive or public space.