Whimsical, poetic and layered – three words that aptly described the work of Pieter Laurens Mol (b. 1946, Breda). Mol draws inspiration from things like alchemy, the natural sciences, mythology, history and the art of the past. The art forms he works in are just as varied as his sources. Mol produces photographic work, installations, sculptures, paintings, drawings and graphic art.
Mol began his career in his hometown of Breda. The town often featured in his early work, one example being The Sun Does (Not) Move(s), a pair of photographs. He made this work in 1973, on the anniversary of the birth of artist and scientist Leonardo da Vinci and of astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus. Mol staged a performance, walking through the centre of Breda wearing a sign bearing Da Vinci’s proposition The Sun Does Not Move. When he walked back, he changed the sign to The Sun Moves. Da Vinci’s quote is a denial of the medieval Christian belief that the sun revolved around the earth. We now know that everything in the universe moves, including the sun.
Pieter Laurens Mol, The Sun Does Not Move/The Sun Moves (1973) | black-and-white photographs, pencil | object number: SMB000487