In the second landcsape, the pixels of the screen spring, as if the picture tries to focus itself to a sharper image. Shape and clear, these words don't necessarily belong together. The artist plays with this paradox.
Two ‘transparent' landscapes are actually composed of fragments of Dutch paintings from the 17th and 19th century in the, respectively, upper and lower half of the work. So, to begin with, there's the painting. The viewer is confronted with pictures of the paintings, which, in ttheir turn, are painted upon. The wind mills and the ships are upside down. That fact supports an idea of realism from the observer's point of view. It could be, a reflection of the mills and ships in the water surface. This form of optical manipulation is typical for Van Elk's art.