''Art is Life & Life is Art''
Stijn Huijts (director of the Bonnefanten Museum):
"Jessica van Deursen is a performance artist, who pushes the boundaries of the common fine-arts practice. Not only does she challenge the borders between her art and her personal life, she also challenges her own mental and physical limits"
The works of Jessica van Deursen investigate the designability of ones course in life, similarly this has been explored both practically and theoretically, for many centuries, within the philosophical tradition of the art of living.
She(/they) does so by exploring her physical and mental capacities, in often very challenging performances. And also by designing new rituals, practical tools and (alternative) lifestyles, which she tests during her own daily life as (durational) performances.
Her works occurs as performances, objects, installations, photographs, video, but also by sharing her research and visual process on her blog Arty Farty Life.
7.83 Hz - 2021 | In times in which social distancing has become the new social norm, by singing together with an audience via digital means, distances can nevertheless be overcome. Likewise, sound and intention are proven to be able to influence behavior of molecules beyond dimensions of time and space. Be inviting an online audience, with people from all over the world, to sing along with our performance, we aimed to create a humming for the Earth and mankind, which are facing an even graver crisis than covid-19
This performance was live broadcasted during Riga Performance Art Festival 2021
Performers: Monique van Deursen, Jessica van Deursen, Sofie Hollander, Sophie Zaaijer and Klaartje van Zwoll
The Great Health - 2020 | installation - performance - video - several small objects | final presentation for residency at Witte Rook | Breda |
Dionysos, the mythical protector of the wild, inspired Niezsche to coin the idea of ''Die Grosse Gesundheit'', in which a society welcomes evanescence, destruction, disgust, chaos, intense sexual drive, suffering, pain, death, fear and insecurity as desired qualities, in order the maintain the natural balance in life.
Performers Monique and Jessica van Deursen (a.k.a. Alter Moderna) invited a small audience to come receive a performative post-covid-19 cleanse. Visitors could 'book' a session at Witte Rook. In between and after the performances, the space could be visited as an exhibition.
Symbiose - 2020 | necklace | two people's hair, ruby and glass beads, silver thread | (30 x 60 cm) |
During Victorian times, it was common, to create jewelry out of a deceased persons' hair; 'mourning jewelry', these pieces were called. At the height of this custom's popularity, merchants would even travel from village to village, to buy the hair of the less fortunate...
For the past fifteen years, I've been a caregiver for one of my close relatives. The relation I've had with this person, has always been complex; It's completely based on trust, which makes the bond very fragile, and because this is also a paid job, which partly enables my art practice.
I feel like I had to make many crucial life decisions for this person throughout the years; as where to study, and where to live. And recently, due to circumstances, also how to look, as I was trusted with the task of cutting off his hair.
White Privilege - 2020 | sculpture | 20 x 4 x 25 cm | birch wood - glass
From left to right:
- Breast milk, 01-29-20, one day after returning from Kolkata, India
- Milk formula, 01-29-20, produced in Switzerland
- Breast milk, 03-04-20, produced on vegan diet in Rotterdam
Soilutions - 2021 | 1 hour performance | for Be-Coming Tree performance festival | UK
In this performance, I exposed my bare body to a outdoor temperature of -1 degrees Celsius for one hour. In order to defy the cold and hyperthermia, I practiced taoist breathing- and meditation techniques. This performance was globally live streamed.
Homo Fragilis - 2020 | durational performance | 5 hours | during Frank Taal gallery | exhibit 10+ | Rotterdam | NL
Materials: vitamin pills, band aid, rubber gloves, syringes, ampouls, mushrooms, living plants.
On the occasion of Frank Taal's anniversary exhibitions, I created this durational performance. Laying on a cold concrete floor, my shivers and spasms added an extra layer of drama to this image.
Modern Medicine for Poorous Measures - 2020 | photography | Material: chicken fence wire, thyme, chamomile, cinnamon, red pepper, nettle, ginger, lemon, sage, dill, radish, orange, liquorice, pine tree, lungwort
CorporAte - 2020 | online performance | 10 minutes | Trienal Deformes | Chili / Netherlands
Cad Goddue - By filling the large hall of Pictura with fog from a smoke machine, video visuals, life soundscape and lights, our aim was to create a dreamlike setting for the audience. As if they were wandering about in a lucid dream, we wanted them to experience what a modern version of nature reclaiming it's position, might look like. In the hall, several small installations and artworks could be found.
The Meek | 2020 - 2020 | performance | 60 minutes
Performed during Venice International Performance Art Week | Palazzo Mora | IT
(Matthew 5:5-9) ''Blessed are the meek. For they shall inherit the Earth''
