Reproductie van plattegrond van de begane grond van de Abdij van Middelburg after 1906

This is a reproduction of the ground floor plan of the Abdij of Middelburg, made by C. Aubry Fils. It’s a drawing, a map, of a space that once was, or maybe still is! I can only imagine the meticulous labour it would have taken to render this plan. You know, that commitment to detail, the careful measuring, and the intention to capture every wall, every room, and every little nook. It’s so cool to think about how the artist must have moved through the space. Like an ant perhaps, Aubry traced the abbey's passages and chambers with his eyes and hands. In a way, he’s trying to pin down the unpinnable, giving a form, albeit a two-dimensional one, to something that exists in three. It’s that very process of trying to capture something ephemeral that connects Aubry to all of us artists. He's literally mapping out a conversation between space and representation, echoing through time.