Reinhard Behrens: Short Autumn Breaks to Naboland

The art of Fife based, Scottish artist Reinhard Behrens inhabits a mythical world of snow and ice, of eastern mystery, and of found objects and ideas which transcend time and place.

This world is called Naboland.

A voyage of discovery which has lasted nearly 50 years, Behrens navigates his audience on an expedition to the mysterious world of Naboland, a land inspired by his travels around the world, dating back to 1975. The concept of Naboland, however, is not just meant to be a parallel world of his that is only accessible to him. Rather, he regards himself as a pioneer into a world that, once documented, becomes a common good and is open to association and interpretation by anyone who looks at his drawings, paintings, prints and installations.

'For nearly fifty years now I find myself in the role of custodian of NABOLAND.
I gained access to NABOLAND through the lucky discovery of two keys.

The first key was a little toy submarine that I found on the Friesian island of Langeness on the North Sea coast of my native Germany while on a painting trip as an art student in 1974.

The second key came to me in the following year while working as a draughtsman for the German Archaeological Institute in Bergama, the historic Pergamon, on the west coast of Turkey. While recovering from a mild sunstroke I came across a Turkish newspaper that appeared to report the collision of a submarine with a cargo ship. Not knowing any Turkish, the only word I could read was the name of the damaged cargo ship: NABOLAND. In my feverish confusion I remembered my own submarine and started to imagine how this little tin toy could become the explorer of NABOLAND.

In the following five decades I tried to establish proof of the existence of NABOLAND in many drawings, etchings, paintings and installations and this exhibition illustrates some of the latest discoveries.

An unexpected but official endorsement of NABOLAND arrived in the form of a letter from the Rt Hon Alok Sharma MP, Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy in preparation of Brexit in November 2020.
Puzzled about how awareness of NABOLAND had reached Westminster I nevertheless am pleased that my artistic concept has become a formally acknowledged reality.
With this governmental backing I hope you feel reassured to consider some ‘Short Autumn Breaks to Naboland’, a territory that has always enjoyed the Green Status.'

Reinhard Behrens
October 2021