A nondescript game, consisting of 35 numbered, concrete cubes, spread out over the area of the ruins of an iron factory at Salangsverket Norway.

During If Paradise Is Half As Nice #13, which took place at the Salangen Biennale II, this work was one of my contributions to the presentation weekend. 35 concrete cubes, all with a number imprinted in them, were lying in a line to begin with. Most of them were later spread over the area of the old ruins of the old factory. Why they were places and what they seemed to point out stays ambiguous. The work challenges the viewer to come up with their own reasons, rules or meanings.

year: 2023
material: 35 concrete cubes of 12x12x12 cm

year: 2023
what: Room filling installation at Kiosk24, Herford.
material: 4 objects, lacquer, ground charcoal, carpet

Permanent work at the sculpture landscape of Lavangsnes Wunderkammer in Norway.

During my stay at the Artist-in-residene program of Lavangsnes Wunderkammer I was able to work in the old boat house for 5 weeks. During these 5 weeks I got inspired by nature and the history of people cultivating the land, fighting against the rocky landscape. I collected broken tools, used to work on the stone covered land around the local fjord. Out of  these tools, I made 6 spades covert in dust made from different rocks found at the shore line in the local fjords.

The work was installed at the back of the boat house that served as my studio during my stay at Lavangsnes Wunderkammer. After my 5 week stay, I donated the work to their sculpture park.

year: 2022
material: 6 broken  spades, stone dust, nails

Three square meters of wall, removed plaster, pencil, white paint.

A work made on location, reflecting on the history of an old artist’s studio represented by a wall. Three square meters: one square where the top layer of plaster has been carefully removed, one square as it is now, accented by a simple pencil line, and the last one where the plaster has been painted white again as it once used to be, accenting the cracks and damages.

A site specific work made during If Paradise Is Half As Nice #10 in Rotterdam. 

The annual IPIHAN project took place this year on an extensive abandoned deserted concrete slab (betonplaat) in Rotterdam.
Compared to the indoor derelict industrial buildings of former editions, this open-air site offered the IPIHAN participants a new challenge. On top of that it enabled the project to be compliant with Covid-19 regulations.

One of the few constructions that were present on the concrete slab was a an old concrete water tank that consisted of 3 big parts and and 3 small parts. I decided to explore the possibilities and properties of one of the three big parts, starting by letting the water out and entering the space by a self made ladder. It gave me an enormous sense of solitude and concentration.

After letting the water out, all that was left was a bad smelling, watery sand substance with water plants and a lot of salamanders and empty concrete walls. During 4 weeks I explored the different elements. I tried to make tiles out of the sandy mud, plastered parts of the concrete walls with the mud and rescued a lot of salamanders out of the drying mud. It turned out to be an ongoing fight with the muddy sand which resulted in very weak tiles and a plaster that cracks and crumbles very easily.

After 4 weeks I presented my endeavors by making the tank accessible for the visitors of IPIHAN #10. I build a stairs out of wood on the inside and a gangway to a small platform in the middle of the tank. Also I put back a little water in the tank, helped by the rain in the last week of the project. This regenerated the life in the tank. All the salamanders came back to life and the plants started to become green again. The stairs and the platform gave the viewer a unique experience. The solitude and silence, the viewers were only allowed to go in one at the time, made you aware of every little detail in the tank: the cracked mud on the wall and the very subtle placed tiles made out of mud in the corners, the salamanders and plants in the water and the clouds moving by in the sky. The sounds of the immediate surroundings where muted and only distant sounds of the city and the wind where audible. Of the outside world, only the sky was visible.

title: Pavilion
year: 2020
size: 11 x 8 x 4 meter
materials: Betonnen waterreservoir, modder, hout
photo: Aad Hoogendoorn