The seesaw-chickens in playgrounds could be a bit more exciting, artists Herman Lamers and Yvo van der Vat thought. They placed two of these rocking play structures on carts with tough, large wheels, facing each other. As if the riders of the seesaw chickens are about to fight each other. The artwork is called Fake Nature, a seesaw-chicken is also a very fake chicken.
The Rotterdam‑based artist Herman Lamers always wonders why the things and the animals are the way they are, and whether it could be different. Many of his sculptures and installations are made for public space. With a cheerful absurdity, they respond to the place where they are situated, they invite to look in a new way. What Lamers creates fits Festival Tweetakt so well that this year he has a major presence in the exhibited artworks. Be sure to also take a look at the Neude. Lamers has shaped part of the Utrecht city square with various works, including his monumental Eyes Wide Open Church. And just around the corner, on the façade of Theater Kikker on the Ganzenmarkt, you can see a neon work by Lamers: an elephant balancing on a slack rope.
After his studies at the Minerva Academy in Groningen, Herman Lamers became a versatile artist. He is a sculptor, installation artist, photographer and draughtsman, and works with all kinds of materials: bronze, aluminium, neon, wood, textiles, plastics, clay and wire mesh. Lamers often collaborates with Yvo van der Vat under the name Lavart.
