Art Office

Honey Jones-Hughes is always in the right place at the right time. That's how it is: where she is, she finds a story. She then tells this, with the help of the people around her. For example, she once went out in Siena with fellow residents to sketch the city. And in 2020 she made a documentary of the community of artists and former squatters who inhabit numbers 15 to 55 on Wolphaertstraat in Charlois, Rotterdam. She lives there herself. She made the documentary when the houses were to be renovated. All residents had to leave. Usually, in these times of gentrification, the houses become more expensive after renovation and the original inhabitants can no longer afford their refurbished home and are forced to move. The residents' association W1555 negotiated the return of the residents to their apartments, after renovation.

Jones-Hughes made a documentary that records the period of renovation, interspersed with interviews: a squatter from the very beginning, artists who started a bar, artists who have only lived there for three years and started a family. W1555 has thus become a time document, but also a proposal for a contrarian way of life, as a successful experiment of social cohesion at a time of increasing commercialization of the housing market.

As socially critical as that sounds, her work itself is so friendly and accessible. She likes the idea of ​​being able to work with little equipment, in collaboration with others. Jones-Hughes: 'There is always a manual aesthetic visible, indeed. The film also has imperfections, such as a choppy image. I am not a filmmaker, but I used film as a medium for this artwork. My work has never been very slick. The camera is handheld, sometimes not in focus. It is important that everyone feels at ease, that everyone can be themselves.' She prefers to work with what is available and reflects on the time in which she lives. 

She believes it is important to be critical of developments that affect people's lives: Jones-Hughes: 'The rent of housing in Charlois rose faster on average than anywhere else in Rotterdam. I was looking for a way to have intimate conversations, in a home environment, because people feel comfortable there. That way you can talk about issues that determine their lives.'

“At the beginning of the pandemic there was a lot of uncertainty. I couldn't get very close to people with the camera. Because of that, I wasn't sure if I could make the film. When I received a PPR, a lot changed. I was able to hire a sound engineer, Nick Thomas. He made good sound recordings. This made it possible to record from a distance and outdoors. It benefited the film, it became a real documentary. When the lockdown was over, I was also able to record the actual renovation of the houses and assemble them.' The award was a welcome injection, especially during the pandemic, when the opportunity to work in the hospitality industry was lost. 

The premiere was held in Geo Wyeth and Jay Tan's pop-up cinema bus, on the street. Jones-Hughes: 'We made a film, everyone who participated was proud. It had value for the residents as a group.' The film was also shown in TENT as part of the Fucking Good Art exhibition Homes for People, not Profit: 'There the film played a role within the context of a conversation about ways of cooperative living. That was a good one frame for the movie.'

She is originally from a small village in Wales. She likes Rotterdam as a city to live and work in. It reminds her of Glasgow, where she lived for five years. Jones-Hughes: 'It's comparable, people have a strong sense of identity, connected to the city, to the neighborhoods where they live. There is a strong sense of ownership, I respond to that with my work.' She is currently working on an ice cream project with Antonio de la Hera: 'We cycled through Rotterdam, looking for ingredients to make ice cream with. We visited farmers and other producers. It's a way for us to meet people, to see how they live and what interests them.' During Art Rotterdam in May 2022 she will present her project: a cargo bike full of ice cream, with all the flavors from the city.

Temporary work contribution PPR
Om artists during the corona lockdowns to help maintain their professional practice, launched CBK Rotterdam de Ttemporary Wacknowledgment Production, Presentation en Research (PPR) about this visual artists can are signed up at CBK Rotterdam. Divided into two rounds in 2020 in 2021 finally received bijna two hundred artists a contribution. The result of the temporary work contribution is bundled in a magazine in which we, together with a few artists, look back and look forward. This is one of fifteen interviews from the magazine.

Text: Machteld Leij
Photo: Mark Bolk