I am a visual artist with a keen interest in natural and humanmade landscapes. In my projects, I examine debatable forms of "natural" environments which are subject to human control. My work consists of visual narratives that respond to questions of relating to these specific surroundings, through the focus on small things that can represent a bigger picture. In a time where the ‘natural’ is critically analysed and evaluated in media and politics worldwide, I dedicate my artistic practice to navigating my audience through case studies of particular landscapes, while alternating between micro and macro perspectives.
Wander Often Wonder Always
Wander Often Wonder Always explores the desire to move away from familiar surroundings by zooming in on a family that is reflecting on their life in a typical Dutch residential area. While wandering around within the safe boundaries of a Cauliflower Neighborhood, it simultaneously zooms out to expose a heartfelt conflict between living life within a pre-designed system and a lingering aspiration to go explore the world.
Voice of a Sinking Landscape
Voice of a Sinking Landscape, spoke about the sinking lands of the Horstermeerpolder. The polder was established in 1882 after the drainage of lake Horstermeer, but has been struggling with its existence ever since. Scientists and nature conservationists argue for the restoration of this landscape by flooding it. The resistance of the local residents against this led to a coup (2010) and the polder was briefly declared an independent republic within the Netherlands.
All is well in the garden
'All is well in the garden' tells a story about the history of the Dutch (peat) landscapes and offers an aberrant mode for perceiving it, in a garden: a place that is thoroughly cultivated by human hands and minds. It speaks about how we relate to place and space with our body and our imagination. Because after all: “life is a state of mind.”
Drach
During my residency at Kunsthuis SYB in 2017, I conducted a research project on the history of the peatlands surrounding Beetsterzwaag, and its neighbouring village Nij Beets. The villages hold a deep historical connection to the soil they were built on: peat and sand grounds, which were touched, moved and shaped entirely by human labour. During my residency, I collaborated with scientists, peat workers, land owners and locals. The project resulted in a large installation at Kunsthuis SYB.