Wat was

What do you like to look at?

All sorts of imagery. It can range from the work of Rudolf Stingel, to personal family archives, Bruce Lee films and the Japanese dance “Butoh”. I have been digitally collecting images based on different interests for a couple years now. 

Do you have a particular subject in your work and how did you arrive at it?

This digital archive I’m constantly adding pictures to gives me a sense of freedom, regarding the subject matter. In one way or another, all this imagery is connected to the  things I find intriguing. Then, a process starts where a certain subject I take   imposes me with a lot of questions, primarily concerning the medium painting itself. Instead of depicting this subject, I strive to let the idea of the motif arise in this way. So when you’re looking at elevator doors, for instance, it’s not the illusion of depicting the materiality as well as I can, that fascinates me. Rather it’s the painterly qualities this subject already carries in itself, that interests me, and how much is needed to evoke this association for the viewer. 

Do you know in advance what you want to make? If not, what do you know in advance?

The first one never works.  I sometimes have a feeling beforehand what I want to achieve in a work. Though, often this feeling becomes stronger when I try it a couple times, and it doesn’t work out.  This process only provides me with more information. 

How do you start a work and how does the working process take place?

There’s no set time frame. When I start, the work can either be done in a day, and one session, or it can take multiple sessions and I go over it again and again. When working, I’m usually not thinking much. 

Can you tell something about the material you work with?

Apart from oil and linen, I use this modelling paste medium to apply texture to the work. It’s an element which influences the way something is depicted. More than an image, or an opening to another dimension, the painting itself becomes a surface again. 

What is your ambition? Or where will you be in 5 years?

I’d hope to see myself having developed an artistic practice that’s ever-evolving and occupied with more questions that will make me want to go to the studio every single day. 

Do you have a specific theme in your work and how did you come up with it?

Yes, in my practice I focus on the body, on our perception of it and the way we carry and treat our bodies, and those of others. What is the tactile relationship with our bodies and how do we detach ourselves from them and connect with them? I look at the intangible contradictions we can carry in a single body and how this defies the binary system. We can carry both horror and beauty within us. In my work, nothing is predetermined, nothing is pigeonholed, and it is an unplaceable whole of things that your perception can play with.

Do you know in advance what you want to create? If not, what do you know in advance?

I work more intuitively; a subject that I do not understand or with which I disagree is often my starting point. From there, I explore different ways of perceiving the subject, which involves a material process and a lot of experimentation.

How do you start a work and how does the working process unfold?

The way I work has mainly to do with touching and feeling. I find that this is my most honest and direct way of giving the viewer the feelings or questions that I myself have and feel. I test materials and mixtures to find the best fit, but I also let my materials lead their own lives.

Can you tell us something about the material you work with?

In “Interplay of contradictions”, I work with 100% natural biomaterial that resembles bioplastic but has different consistencies. I contrast these homemade natural materials with synthetic gauze and plastic, such as the PVC tubes that carry the un固ified material base of the creatures/skins/....