THE PROCESS
“For my work I am continuously looking at the world around me. Out on the streets, but also in digital environments. If my attention is drawn towards something I quickly take a picture, sketch or screenshot. At that moment I don’t exactly know why I am interested in it, but it is important enough for me to remember. That way I create an archive of images that inspire me if I am starting a new artwork or project.
A lot of my work has to do with man-made objects. I am intrigued by fences for example. They are created for a certain purpose, carefully put at a specific location and built by people. Because of that, a fence almost always has a story that comes with it. Next to the highway nearby is a beautiful brick wall with a windowsill on top of it. I have no idea what it is doing there but it looks great, and that’s what I like about it.”
A lot of my work has to do with man-made objects
THE EDITION
“The idea to create a mailbox has been on my mind for a couple of years, but now it is finally realised. In 2018, I made some sketches and several studies of foam and other materials but it never quite came into its own. I wanted the color to give the same feel as a real mailbox. That was something I could accomplish with glazing, so eventually I decided to make a ceramic mailbox.
I think mailboxes are a nice symbol because they represent a very childlike imagination, like a portal that opens into a different world. You never know what you will find on the other side. Tell a dream, lose a reader is a mailbox that is always open, which is already a bit odd. And then there’s the small fragile egg that holds it open. You don’t know what it’s doing there and what will happen – will it break, or is it almost falling out?
The title refers to a quote about never literally explaining what a story means. The way I interpret it is that in art, you always need to keep a sense of wonder. If you explain everything until the last detail, things become dull.”
If you explain everything until the last detail, things become dull
THE STUDIO
“Most days in my studio start in the morning. I have a comfortable chair here that is great to sit down in and have a coffee – it may take me a while before getting up – and then I get going. When I have a deadline for an exhibition I’m producing a lot. During those phases my studio is complete chaos and there is hardly any space for me to move around! After those projects I always take a short break to clean up the room again so that I can start a new work. For the coming years some friends and I have the idea to start building our own artist studios nearby in Zeist. That would be great because then we can arrange those spaces exactly in the way we need them to be. I have also decided that I will start focusing on becoming a full-time artist this year. That means I will quit my other job as an art teacher. It’s a very exciting and a bit of a scary step to take, but I think I can do it.”
