The Tin Men

The photo project of VanGerven|VanRijnberk ‘The Tin Men’ gives us as peek in how easy the industrial urban landscape launches our phantasy. High figures lurching at you from over anonymous structures. Their purpose unknown, their intentions unclear. Sometimes these figures their silhouettes reassemble the human form. In other moments they just look like incredible machines, of which its use is forgotten or unclear.

At times when their shape looks like a human figure, we see robot-like structures of which we cannot detect their intentions… Shapes of things to come. Are their intentions friendly or unfriendly? Are they frozen in movement and time or ready to act?

The photo-series The Tin Men brings together this personification of steel structures and mixes both fairytale urban landscape with ‘War of the worlds’ like impressions.

Starting out of this fairytale contexts the photos refers to The Wonderful Wizzard of Oz and the Tin Man or the Tin Woodman. In the phantasy story The Tin Woodman states unequivocally that he has neither heart nor brain, but cares nothing for the loss of his brain. Towards the end of the novel, though, Glinda praises his brain as not quite that of the Scarecrow’s. The Wizard turns out to be a “humbug” and can only provide a placebo heart made of silk and filled with sawdust. However, this is enough to please the Tin Woodman, who, with or without a heart, was all along the most tender and emotional of Dorothy’s companions (just as the Scarecrow was the wisest and the Cowardly Lion the bravest). For instance, when the Tin Woodman accidentally crushes an insect, he is grief-stricken and, ironically, claims that he must be careful about such things, while those with hearts do not need such care. This tenderness remains with him.

Set of 12 images, each 21x30cm. Edition 5

In the movie The Wizzard of Oz the Tin Man is totally replaced by tin metal and becomes a robot-like figure. In these photo’s a reference is made to the Tin Man and the silo’s in which wood chippings and sawdust is assembled as having in their inner core a likewise placebo heart filled with sawdust. Then the assumption them having no brain, probably may make you worry about off their intentions… In our world where it is still unclear if and how interaction with robots will be beneficial to human this opens up a new narrative in which the imagery exposes a new layer of meaning. Expecting timeless motionless figure could the still suddenly start moving, raising above the buildup structures and start chasing us…