Shed on the Col de la Croix in canton Vaud 1986

Curator: At first glance, I sense a certain somber stillness. It's quiet, like a forgotten story whispered through wood. Editor: Indeed. The work we're looking at is titled "Shed on the Col de la Croix in canton Vaud" completed by Hubertine Heijermans in 1986. It's an etching and ink drawing. Seeing it makes me think of how symbols of shelter evolve in art. Buildings, even simple ones like this, appear as powerful psychological markers. Curator: Psychological markers, yes! Like the subconscious has erected this stoic, unwavering…outpost. I almost expect it to exhale a puff of smoke, but it remains locked in the gaze of the artist. The cross symbolism in 'de la Croix,' the name itself, could evoke protection or, perhaps, burdened history? Editor: Absolutely, consider that even in rural Switzerland, the cross resonates beyond religion. As an iconographer, it suggests not just spirituality, but crossroads, burdens carried, paths taken, or the convergence of the natural world. The drawing shows the solid shed nestled within what looks to be a difficult mountain path. Curator: The textures intrigue me. The way the light etches the lines in the old timbers suggests age and hard-won sturdiness. You get the sense of resilience here, a stubborn endurance against the elements that somehow transcends the individual building. There’s something innately 'there' that speaks to place. Editor: Exactly, Hubertine’s sharp line work provides volume to what would otherwise be just surface. The materials--wood and ink—tell a symbolic story themselves; mortality mapped onto steadfast construction. You can almost feel how it’s both temporary and eternal, existing at an isolated crossroads. Curator: Makes one ponder the human drive for finding or creating some semblance of refuge and place amongst such unyielding landscapes, doesn't it? This Shed, stark though it may be, makes you feel like…coming home. Editor: And that primal connection is precisely why images like these continue to resonate across time and cultures. Even as we analyze it here, we find ourselves seeking those symbols of familiarity in the unknown and sometimes daunting, world around us.