Heaven is so close 2021

Tom Haakman

casting stone – wood

Tom Haakman is a Dutch artist who tries to put everyday matters in a different perspective from his own.

Literally, he says: ‘Driving through the Netherlands, I am endlessly amazed at how our country works. As a maker, I continuously reflect on this thought in my work. I try to hover above society with a helicopter view and wonder why it is built on certain pillars. Why is euthanasia a taboo and what place does religion still have in our lives? I strive to convey my admiration and wonderment for the mechanisms and organization of society, which we take for granted. With my work, I want to stimulate empathy and respect for underexposed elements and encourage us to rethink our relationship with society.”

The sculpture ‘Heaven is so Close’ is a tower of Babel in which he asks the question of whether technology can bring us back together to heaven? Tom Haakman shows his observations of the gradual decline of religion and religious values ​​in our society, using a crossover between classical symbolism and modern techniques. The mobile phone clearly plays a major role in this. This creates a search for rituals to fill the existing gaps.