Erik Wessel (1964, 's Hertogenbosch) is a conceptual Dutch artist whose work encompasses performances, videos, photographs and drawings. He earned early recognition with his bold performances, which involved setting his own hair on fire and getting the words "LOVE" tattooed on his hand. Comparably bold, if less in a physical way, he performed a public karaoke to his favorite songs. The video Düffels Möll, 1997 shows the artist attached to the turning wing of a typical Dutch windmill. Nature plays an important role in the artist's work. In 2002 Wesselo sent a group of Polaroid's of nature to sing/songwriter Will Oldham who then composed as song on the images (Forest Time, 2002, LP and book, available through the gallery). But the most important ingredient of Wesselo's work is time. All of his films are carefully edited in terms of duration, speed and movement. Slow motion and extensive duration forces the spectator to stop and watch. Repetitious movement brings a meditative stillness to the works. Wesselo proves to be a master of timing and dramatic effect. Virtuously playing with the spectator's expectancy and patience his narrations unravel graciously, without haste.
Erik Wesselo graduated from the Ateliers Arnhem in 1995. He exhibited at the van Abbemuseum Eindhoven (NL), the Irvine Fine Arts Centre California, de Appel, Amsterdam, Witte de With, Rotterdam and Palazzo delle Papesse Siena among many other international venues. He has collaborated with prestigious contemporary galleries such as Team Gallery, New York and Yvon Lambert, Paris. In 2006 he published 56 Beaver Street.