The light in Holland is a phenomenon of mythical proportions and has been a central theme in Dutch painting and poetry for centuries. During her stay at the Pompgemaal in Den Helder, a maritime city defined by its naval base, offshore industry and fishery, Schlegel researched, captured and materialized those moments of day when the light fades into darkness and when the light expels the night. For centuries ships determined their geographical position by means of celestial navigation during nautical twilight. Schlegel analyzed thousands of photographs, empirical observations of the half-light, and developed a system to extract the color and lightness values and then merge the acquired data into a single image. In this way, the entire duration of the transition from light to darkness, or vice versa, of each captured dusk or dawn becomes visible at a single glance. Two of the captured twilights have been reproduced as photo prints of almost 6 meters long. Every millimeter of these photo prints corresponds with a second of twilight. On the matte paper the subtle gradients obtain a velvety appearance. The works possess the qualities of an abstract painting; an abstract landscape scenery.
Tints of Dawn and Shades of Dusk