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BABEL TO ABSTRACTION
Three Highgate Productions in association with Esmeralda Claessen and LemKino Pictures are proud to announce Babel to Abstraction, a film about the life and art of George Claessen.
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An inventive exploration of the life and work of one of Asia’s pioneers of Abstract Art – George Claessen. Born into a family of Eurasian Dutch Burghers in colonial Ceylon, Claessen’s life spanned the twentieth century and entangled with many of its most compelling themes: colonialism, decolonisation, identity, migration, Cold War politics and the Artist’s quest for Truth and Beauty amidst the existential Battle against Rejection that all creators face.
Although legendary in his native land and lavishly praised by leading post-war European art critics including John Berger and George Besson, Claessen remains long neglected in his adopted country of Britain. For decades he was forced to pursue a lonely career as a humble company draughtsman while creating at night the prodigious body of work that is only now beginning to be recognised for its depth and intensity of vision.
Denyer’s music – live and recorded – provides a haunting and surprising soundtrack to the story of an artist who, for seven decades, struggled – often unrecognised - to produce what the Guardian’s 1960s art critic GM Butcher called “precise renditions of that state of Being which is beyond Appearance”.
The film is photographed & directed by Rob Lemkin (African Apocalypse - LFF 2020, Enemies of the People - winner Sundance, BIFA etc 2010) and produced and co-written by Irina Johnstone for Three Highgate Productions. The film’s Executive Producers are Claessen’s daughter Esmeralda Claessen, her husband the artist Wolf Suhan and Claessen’s biographer, the art historian and scientist Shamil Wanigaratne. Music is by the British composer Frank Denyer. Animation is by the British-Egyptian artist Iman Mahdy.
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The film is expected to premier in the spring 2025.​​​​​​​​
The film features a revealing conversation with Claessen, aged 83, in an interview with his daughter Esmeralda not long before his death in 1999. Intertwining this precious archive with a wealth of material – including innovative animation and reworkings of Basil Wright's 1934 documentary classic ‘Song of Ceylon’ - from colonial South Asia and post-war London, the film’s heart is a dazzling showcase of vibrant abstract art. The film also includes extracts from letters, journals and readings of Claessen’s poetry.
George’s remarkable life story and journey are amplified through interviews with his daughter Esmeralda, his biographer Shamil Wanigaratne, the British art curator and writer, Alistair Hicks, and George's friend the veteran experimental composer Frank Denyer.
George Claessen: Babel to Abstraction was also the title of the 2023 major retrospective of the renowned artist's multifaceted work - the first presentation of his work in London for 18 years. Presented by Three Highgate Gallery, which is in the vicinity where Claessen himself lived and worked, the works on show spanned over 70 years and reflected his extraordinary career as an artist and his commitment to abstraction, stating “Every hue and nuance from a prism comes."​​​​
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George Claessen, A Presence, 1969 © The Estate of George Claessen.
Courtesy Three Highgate
Notes to Editors and Press
For further information or press enquiries, please contact Three Highgate team on +44 203 7957200 or info@threehighgate.com