Concept
The idea of Ardvanderlinden arose when we were discussing the meaning of countries, their borders and their identity. In our opinion:
"A flag symbolizes identity, which one can be proud of, but should never lead one into negative conflict."
Ardvanderlinden paints flags, of all countries, in all countries, with all people; because Ardvanderlinden sees unity instead of borders. Borders only exist because we allow them to be there. Ardvanderlinden strives for a world without borders, questions the idea of identity and supports differences. We think that countries and their borders are pure human ideas that undermine the unity of life. This does not mean we are against culture, we are against the borders that arise from the idea country which takes freedom away from humans. We should strive for one world with one mankind. For this reason it is very important to start a discussion how we should deal with countries in the future and how we could guarantee that humans always come first.
Repeatedly painting flags gives Ardvanderlinden the opportunity to focus on painting in its most pure form. By concentrating for hours on the few brush strokes that create the flag it becomes both meaningless and meaningful. Where at some points painting takes over and shows the unity of life, at other points the idea of the flag returns and confronts us with the difficulties of letting go of borders in our mind. It shows how hard it is to move away from the idea of identity and to see the unity of all life.