Joost van den Toorn
A HISTORY DISREGARDED
The city is a story; one that is recounted,
written, kept secret, rewritten and adapted
to the circumstances. Idealized, in other
words. And so it went with the story of
Middelburg's patron saint Norbert; a story
which has pushed the obscure history
of another of Middelburg's citizens into
disregard. Thus a city can also be a fafade
in words.
Joost van den Toorn's contribution to
Fafade 2012 is a statue that intends to
retouch Middelburg's history. In his own
words: 'I would like to bring truth back
to the monastery around which Middel
burg was built.' That monastery is the
present-day abbey founded in 1127 by The
Norbertines (canons regular). Behind the
triumphant story of the Order's founder,
Norbert, resides an altogether different
story, seemingly erased from memory. It
is the tale of one of the great heretics of
Dutch history, Tanchelm, also known as
Tachelijn. Dressed in rags, he strongly
criticized the wealth and power of the
Roman Catholic church, and had an
enormous following in Zeeland and Flan
ders. He was born near Middelburg and
settled in Antwerp, where he was killed
by a priest in 1115. In 1124, Norbert was
instructed by the Vatican to put an end
to Tanchelm's ideas and followers. This
explains Norbert's common depiction in
iconography as the triumphant conqueror
of the heretic; standing over Tanchelm,
monstrance in hand, in reference to the
Eucharist.
In Van den Toom's work Norbert's
image stands high on a tower, modeled
after Middelburg's coat of arms. In con
trast, at the foot of the tower, we see the
head of the suppressed Tanchelm. In doing
so, Van den Toorn restores this heretic to
his place in Middelburg's history, thus cor
recting the official version of the story.
Religion, war, and death are regular
ly recurring themes in Van den Toorn's
work. He approaches these themes
with intuition rather than rationale, and
eschews explanations based on historical
accounts according to the ruling classes
and those in power. Van den Toom pre
fers to watch from the sidelines, enabling
him to speak freely. His work breathes
earnestness and humor, imagination
and irony. He aims to present us with
an unconventional mirror, with which to
reflect a different view of Middelburg's
history.
Various versions of the statue, stand
ing on pedestals perched on the magiste
rial buildings of Middelburg - such as the
Abdij, the City Hall and the Vleeshal - tell
the story that was disregarded. A dark
story, in contrast with the grandeur, the
faith and justice of which Middelburg's
architecture would like to bear testimony.
Thus the authentic story, a less palpable
historical reality, returns to Middelburg
devoid of the noble embellishments nec
essary when setting a Saint's life as an
example.
www.joostvandentoorn.nl
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