Wonderful news, my painting ‘ Last Gatekeepers Of Lost Revolutions’ has been shortlisted in the Singulart International Women’s Day 2025 Award!
The jury states that it stands out with its unique perspective on the theme of (female) Bravery.
Acryl op canvas 100/150 cm
About the work itself: Hovering female figures spreading their arms wide open and floating around. They are jumping and moving simultaneously. They are clearly present and strong. The last gatekeepers is referring to a world where young men, the proverbial sons, are sent to war by other men. This is why, I believe, when women rule, wars will end. No mother in her right mind will ever send her child voluntarily to a war, any war.
Last Gatekeepers Of Lost Revolutions is part of the Metropolitan series and is currently on display in Bruxelles handled by Bernice, Art Rental and Gallery in Temse.
Sea Of Tranquility – acrylic on canvas – 155 x 90 cm – 2025
This painting features 7 alienated versions of me.
I am not truly at ease with the concept of AI, but as an image creator, I felt the need to know where the future of image creation is heading. So I started my first investigation into AI in Photoshop.
I used a recent picture of myself and simply instructed the conceptual toolbar: ‘’improve‘’. The result of this one instruction was a bit of horror meets a VR-loving alien. A surprising and baffling introduction to AI, but not really a compliment.
I now imagine that in its eyes, my request for improvement could only lead to something that would visually resemble a physical version of itself, just like the creator who created humankind in his own image. As uncanny as this outcome was, it inspired me to create this canvas on which a more sympathetic version of this raw first artificial draft, times seven, rises from a restless sea of tranquillity.
What AI made of me
I thank AI for this inspiration, but I am not sure if I will become a frequent flyer, though; probably I will and without knowing that I do, just like the rest of us. She is beyond us.
I’m not sure our lives will get better with AI and all that it embeds and will encapsulate in the future.
If it were up to me (it is not), I would rather live life with all its beautiful, natural imperfections and oddities with the certainty of death than become a servant of a perfect faceless system with a poor imagination.
In Our Nature 2024- Acrylic on canvas- part of the Side Show series
The blue letters on a paper bag smiled at me from the roadside, It has been there for a while, at least a few days. Yet it hasn’t been so long that either the blue is discoloured or the bag half-decayed. It still looks fresh. Next to the bag, scraps of what was probably a burger. A piece of grey matter in yellow-pink goo hangs bloodlessly from a white bag, with green limp lettuce leaves and a sliver of tomato as irrefutable evidence of knowledge of good nutricion. A pair of soulless and limp fries stick out of a bright red cardboard container. A striped straw protrudes triumphantly from a large white cup with plastic cap which combined with the red tray of fainted fries gives a festive look. What a happy meal this must have been.
Everywhere I look I find these silent testimonies of feeding frenzy that apparently had to take place then and there and that after a big burp of pleasure suddenly became too much. Was it too heavy on the stomach to move what was left just an inch?
Evidently, that which was picked up, wheeled around and nibbled on full of desire and gluttony had to be disassociated from as soon as possible, immediately in fact.
Those who love blue letters can move from A to B while scrabbling. Those less fond of it see mostly a correlation.
Escape Route X is the title of an educational multimedia and cutting-edge social game. Students from the Social Work programme will engage in an experience exercise by stepping briefly ‘ in a playful manner ’ into the shoes of a refugee.
Pilot project Escape Route X – Deltion College Zwolle
4 groups will be made to play the game simultaneously over 90 minutes. In the game, students assume the identities of fictional refugees: Chin Ho from North Korea (Asia), Ali Osman from Sudan (North Africa), Jimpa from Tibet (Asia) and Jamilah from Syria (Middle East). This identity determines their starting point, means of transport and home situation, thus their place at the gaming table.
To properly get into character, players are given a passport. This passport contains their character’s brief life story and reason for departure/flight. Although the characters are fictional, the stories are penned from collected stories of real refugees.
4 Game distributors are responsible for issuing the game passports, situation cards and start/travel money but also act as a question guide for the players.
These game handlers are experts by experience who have a flight past themselves. Courtesy of the Foundation Voor Elkaar, Zwolle, the following expert by experience will assist me: Noor Ba- Hashwan (23) from Yemen, Abdullah al Mohamed (25) from Syria, Hasmik Karapetyan (32) from Armenia. And Mustafa Ahmed (22) from Somalia by means of theSamen Omhoog foundation.
Afterwards, they will also give an insight into their own migration stories and answer questions.
By doing so, we hope to give more insight into refugee issues here and in the country of origin, in times of polarisation and increasing intolerance. At the same to give it a face and a personal story.
We would like to contribute to a more open attitude towards newcomers.
This pilot was created in collaboration with Petra Turan, with support from the municipality of Zwolle. Petra is Senior Lecturer at Deltion College/ Visual artist, MSc Design Driven Innovation/ Moderator eTwinning group and IVET Community/Blended Coach)
This game was developed by me and artist Mark van Enk in 2011 entitled Flight 050511 for the Liberation Day festival in Zwolle. I then further developed it into a full-fledged board game. With the help of Codename Future, Emiel Sikkema and teacher Wim Hilberdink and his medialogue students at SG Thorbecke Zwolle, I conducted research to optimise the game and make it interesting for a young audience. I then further developed it into what it is today with input from Jolan van de Water, Patrick Pelman, Stan Vergeer and Petra Turan.
I hereby proudly present my latest painting to you
Insomnia- [ a bed piece about bed peace ] 2024 – part of the Brave New World series.
Insomnia(a bed piece about bed peace)-Acryl op canvas- 155 x 90 cm- 2024
This canvas took me a while. The messy bedding, duvet and wrinkled sheets forced me to look closely and study what was actually happening there in that fabric. I saw so much detail, hue differences in grey tones, fold lines, creases and bulges that had almost human traits, that there was practically no way out. In the second instance, I chose to leave out a lot of detail again, by erasing it. The turmoil in the image depicts my own turmoil from a while ago. This is my reckoning with that period.
2023- Haunting thoughts kept me awake during a period of 3 months. The thought of haunting thoughts kept me awake. The fear of the thoughts of the haunting thoughts kept me awake and made me anxious to go to bed.
Tossing and turning, it seemed a never ending attempt to silence my restless heart. Tried [too] hard to ignore noises of wind blowing, cats on roof, a car starting, a street conversation, a train passing, a party in the distance, even the comforting respiration of my man and the snoring of my cat. I hold my heart and belly as my breath is too high up and going too fast.
My eyes wide shut.
Hoping to shut the flow of insecure and sad voices within.
A glance at the alarm clock tells me that it’s four AM.
I scare myself.
All I ever really wanted was peace, peace of mind, peace of heart, bed peace.
I hereby present my latest artwork, Blue Eyed Blues, to you
Acryl op canvas – 62 x 62 cm 2024
Blue Eyed Blues -acrylic on canvas 51 x 51 cm – 2024
A pile of dishes. A mix of plates, inherited from my grandmother, a Japanese Bowl and a hard plastic watercup accidentally add up to what appears to be a gazing blue eye, that’s wide open and sees all. Could things have souls? According to some they have.
Hierbij presenteer ik jullie mijn nieuwste kunstwerk, Blue Eyed Blues.
Acryl op canvas – 62 x 62 cm 2024
Een stapel servies. Een mix van borden, geërfd van mijn grootmoeder, een Japanse kom en een hard plastic waterbakje vormen samen per toeval wat lijkt op een starend blauw oog, dat wijd open staat en alles ziet. Zouden dingen een ziel hebben? Volgens sommigen wel.
Dit kunstwerk is onderdeel van de Side Show series.
The selection now covers 9 variations: Red – Black – Yellow- Black 02 – Blue – Black 03, Pink – Black 04 and Green.
Red – Black and Yellow are on display during PROTO, Zwolle in the auditorium of the Stadkamer. PROTO runs from June 26-30, 2024 but the works will stay longer.
Inmiddels beslaat de selectie 9 variaties: Red – Black – Yellow- Black 02 – Blue – Black 03, Pink – Black 04 en Green.
Red – Black en Yellow hangen tijdens PROTO, Zwolle in de grote zaal van de Stadkamer. Proto is van vanaf 26 t/m 30 juni 2024 maar het werk blijft langer hangen.
