The Fisherman (2024-2025)
Once We Ruled The World

Dinosaurs have captured the human imagination for generations. For millions of years, they ruled the Earth, until their extinction—around 66 million years ago—paved the way for the rise of mammals and, eventually, humankind. In that light, Homo sapiens, with a history of just 300,000 years, is a young species. Our dominance is not due to brute strength, but to our capacity for thought, creation, and collaboration—intelligence, technology, and social structures have brought us to the top of the food chain. With Once We Ruled the World, Herck launches an impressive series of installations in which human and dinosaur skeletons are intricately interwoven. These sculptures form a visual and conceptual exploration of hubris, evolution, and the weight of history.

The first installation in the series, The Fisherman, was previously exhibited along the Grand Canal during the 60th edition of the Venice Biennale. The work features a colossal human skeleton—an embodiment of the human self-image—seated on a chair and fishing with a USB cable, atop a life-sized plesiosaurus. A cast of Herck’s own skull plays a central role: an introspective symbol that questions not only the human self-image, but also the ego of the artist himself. This absurd yet poetic scene raises questions about the nature of our species—a young ruler of Earth—and opens the door to a speculative reflection on our digital era.

In Spiere-Helkijn (BE) The water in which the installation is placed, with its black base, functions both as a mirror and as a dark screen—a black mirror referencing the familiar displays of our TVs, laptops, and smartphones. It confronts us with a daily, often unconscious reflection of ourselves, and reveals how deeply entangled we’ve become with the digital version of our existence.

The reflection evokes not only the myth of Narcissus but also draws a connection to our modern screen addiction. In doing so, it creates a powerful, multi-layered image of a humanity on the cusp of digital evolution—or perhaps even the birth of a new species. The Fisherman invites contemplation: on our vanity, our mortality, and our place between past, present, and future.

As part of the 60th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale in Italy, The Fisherman—a work from the Once We Ruled the World series—was installed in the Garden of Palazzo Balbi Valier. Situated near the Ponte dell’Accademia, one of the most prominent locations in Venice, the installation stood out with a clear view from the Grand Canal.

Production process:
2023