Daniella Wesseling explores the workings of the mind through the physical reality of paint on layers of canvas. Depending on the perspective, these layers relate to each other differently, creating a variable, fluid space that functions as a portal to a parallel world. Wesseling first applied her technique to portraits, landscapes and still lives but has recently switched to completely abstract images. She employs geometric shapes as a kind of universal language to evoke and convey emotions as well as to connect to the collective subconscious.
Dromen op Zuid - 2021 Gerealiseerd dankzij de PPR Regeling van het CBK
Dromen op Zuid (Dreaming in South) is a project based on the meaning of dreams in everyday life and focuses on the dreams of the inhabitants of Rotterdam South specifically. The start point of the project was a series of questionnaires held in the streets of Rotterdam South. Passerbys were asked about their literal dreams and the meaning these have in their lives.
Dreams are a relatable way to discuss consciousness and coincidence. In the neighbourhoods we held the questionnaires there is a lot of conflict, due to lot of conflict. In dreams there is a sense of unity. The imagery is similar, regardless of the socioeconomic or cultural background of the dreamer.
The images often come from a shared subconscious and there are even a number of dreams that occur in every civilization in a similar manner.
Some of the interviewed people had lucid dreams. They could choose what to dream and when they want to wake from the dream. Some used dreaming as a way to communicate with a deeper wisdom or even with deceased ancestors.
The installation I made based on the interviews was placed in a central park. The work is built out of multiple translucent layers, the colours intervene with each other, and the viewer can alternately focus on different layers and build their own image. The installation was perceived as frightening by some and peaceful by others, almost as a Rorschach test image mirroring the viewers perception in the moment.
Storylab
Story Lab- a study in synchronicity - Story Lab is an ongoing project that started in 2008 when I made a house of recycled plastic bottles in which I “recycled” the fear of visitors into fairy tales during the Wereld van Witte de With Festival in Rotterdam. This experiment had a successful outcome. The improvised stories had a strong effect on the visitors.
I later revisited the project to study the workings of synchronicity. In the summer of 2020, my twin sister Joanna and I performed this project every week in the streets of Rotterdam. Joanna and I have a lot of experience with synchronicity. Identical twins like us are often used in studying genetics or telepathy.
I'm interested in these synchronistical experiences from a personal point but, also, in a broader sense. Shamanistic cultures, for example, have a different way of looking at the bond between mind and matter but are mostly discarded by Western science. I feel the combination of personally experienced science and empirical science strengthens them both.
The experiences in the Story Lab were coincidental, intimate and mysterious. A large and diverse audience shared their fears. Candidly sharing these fears with us and our openness to tell a story without any prefabricated plan seemed to enhance the coincidence in the moment.
The Underground (l) Mothership (r) Brutus Art Space
Painting my breath - I painted this installation to the rhythm of my breath, white for the inhalation and red for the exhalation. The work is inspired by traditional Indonesian tapestry weaving, connecting the mind and the wishes of the artist with the matter. It’s a way of connecting the past and the present through working in a meditative way. Oil paint on textile, 2015.
Ancestors - Oilpaint on translucent fabric, 2022
Mask
Indisch Geel - Olieverf op gaas en doek, 80 x 60 x 8 cm
