Zelf in een doosje

2020–2021
Film, 10 minutes
Using the six of the sculptures from the series Zelf
Clay, wood, stone, second hand covers, various dimensions
Online screening in Over de Drempel (NL), April 2021

For Zelf in een Doosje (Self in a Small Box), six of the sculptures of Zelf were lent to elderly inhabitants of the Frisian villages Koarnjum and Jelsum. The film captures their first encounters with the objects as well as the connection they developed to them over time. What place did the objects take in their daily routines, amongst their other belongings? How did the objects gain meaning in the context of personal stories, both to the residents and to an audience watching the footage? Out of this collaborative research, a new artwork emerged: a film of 10 minutes, in which people and objects give meaning to each other.

Due to the Covid-19 regulations, this work premiered eight times, for each participant separately, on March 27, 2021, at theatre De Wier in Cornjum (NL). After that it was available for online viewing for five weeks. What you see here is the trailer.

I’m so grateful for the patience and openness of participants Janny van der Mei, Pieter van der Werff, Janke Terpstra, Josephine Land-Cohen, Sjieuwke van Dijk, Tine Sinnema, Stien Beckers, and Anneke Schotanus-Hoitsma. Producing this film would not have been possible without the enthusiasm and help of Yvon Wolfslag and Pieter van der Werff, community organizers in Koarnjum and Jelsum. Shout out to Boetie Zijlstra, my super intern at the time. The double bass you hear in the film is played by Harm Wijntjes. Video editing expert Jasper van den Brink pulled me through the hardest parts of the editing phase, and the finishing touches of Jaap Sijben polished the sound to perfection. The translation was done by Rosie Haward. Special thanks to Tamara Schoppert, Jantien Koenders, and Lorenzo Schmidt for their valuable feedback, and Bob de Boer and Wieke de Haan for their help at theatre De Wier

This work was made possible with the generous support of Over de Drempel and the Mondriaan Fund.

For Zelf in een Doosje (Self in a Small Box), six of the sculptures of Zelf were lent to elderly inhabitants of the Frisian villages Koarnjum and Jelsum. The film captures their first encounters with the objects as well as the connection they developed to them over time. What place did the objects take in their daily routines, amongst their other belongings? How did the objects gain meaning in the context of personal stories, both to the residents and to an audience watching the footage? Out of this collaborative research, a new artwork emerged: a film of 10 minutes, in which people and objects give meaning to each other.

Due to the Covid-19 regulations, this work premiered eight times, for each participant separately, on March 27, 2021, at theatre De Wier in Cornjum (NL). After that it was available for online viewing for five weeks. What you see here is the trailer.

I’m so grateful for the patience and openness of participants Janny van der Mei, Pieter van der Werff, Janke Terpstra, Josephine Land-Cohen, Sjieuwke van Dijk, Tine Sinnema, Stien Beckers, and Anneke Schotanus-Hoitsma. Producing this film would not have been possible without the enthusiasm and help of Yvon Wolfslag and Pieter van der Werff, community organizers in Koarnjum and Jelsum. Shout out to Boetie Zijlstra, my super intern at the time. The double bass you hear in the film is played by Harm Wijntjes. Video editing expert Jasper van den Brink pulled me through the hardest parts of the editing phase, and the finishing touches of Jaap Sijben polished the sound to perfection. The translation was done by Rosie Haward. Special thanks to Tamara Schoppert, Jantien Koenders, and Lorenzo Schmidt for their valuable feedback, and Bob de Boer and Wieke de Haan for their help at theatre De Wier

This work was made possible with the generous support of Over de Drempel and the Mondriaan Fund.

Not Forever

2021
Sculpture-performance
150x230x120cm / 2 months
Recycled wood, old newspaper
Commissioned by Stichting NDSM-werf

Sasha Pevak (independant curator and artist) during a digital studio visit: ‘The monument becomes visible only when it is removed’.

Not Forever moved around the NDSM wharf for two months, always under the care of users of the space. Their presence provided a context for the work, as did the physical surroundings, which changed as the object moved around. The weight and proportions of the object, which was made from recycled materials, forced its caretakers to collaborate when moving it from one location to the next. Not Forever forms an attempt to make tangible their collective care and concern for the wharf, and to materialise this into something that could be cherished together, albeit temporarily. During the finnissage, the object was peeled bare by both the audience and the artist, after which a recycling company collected the skeleton and drove away.

Not Forever reflects on the questions Stichting NDSM-werf raised in their ‘(un)monumenting’ series: what could or should a monument be in our present time? For whom is a monument intended, and who gets to determine this? This performative and temporary monument (contradiction intended) is an ode to what the wharf was, is, and might not be much longer if we let gentrification and climate change continue to develop as they currently are.

You can find a longer interview with Sijben about this work here.

Yawen Fu and Daichi Fuwa were studio assistants during this project. It was curated by Ewa Scheifes and Petra Heck from Stichting NDSM-werf, with communication help from Robin van Dijk. The participation of Corine from Grafische Werkplaats Amsterdam, Tim Jongens from IJVER Amsterdam, David Roos from STRAAT Museum, Simone Hogendijk from Over het IJ festival, Sarah Payton from the Kunststad, Houk van Lier from Houkmaakthet, Robbert Jongkind and Justa from Treehouse NDSM, Marcel from NDSM Bikes and Erik from Eriks House were crucial in this project. Matthijs form I. Deegen & Zoon BV was a big help too. Big thanks to all of the above!

The first picture was taken by Robbert Jongkind. This work was made possible with the generous support of Stichting NDSM-werf and the Mondriaan Fund.

Sasha Pevak (independant curator and artist) during a digital studio visit: ‘The monument becomes visible only when it is removed’.

Not Forever moved around the NDSM wharf for two months, always under the care of users of the space. Their presence provided a context for the work, as did the physical surroundings, which changed as the object moved around. The weight and proportions of the object, which was made from recycled materials, forced its caretakers to collaborate when moving it from one location to the next. Not Forever forms an attempt to make tangible their collective care and concern for the wharf, and to materialise this into something that could be cherished together, albeit temporarily. During the finnissage, the object was peeled bare by both the audience and the artist, after which a recycling company collected the skeleton and drove away.

Not Forever reflects on the questions Stichting NDSM-werf raised in their ‘(un)monumenting’ series: what could or should a monument be in our present time? For whom is a monument intended, and who gets to determine this? This performative and temporary monument (contradiction intended) is an ode to what the wharf was, is, and might not be much longer if we let gentrification and climate change continue to develop as they currently are.

You can find a longer interview with Sijben about this work here.

Yawen Fu and Daichi Fuwa were studio assistants during this project. It was curated by Ewa Scheifes and Petra Heck from Stichting NDSM-werf, with communication help from Robin van Dijk. The participation of Corine from Grafische Werkplaats Amsterdam, Tim Jongens from IJVER Amsterdam, David Roos from STRAAT Museum, Simone Hogendijk from Over het IJ festival, Sarah Payton from the Kunststad, Houk van Lier from Houkmaakthet, Robbert Jongkind and Justa from Treehouse NDSM, Marcel from NDSM Bikes and Erik from Eriks House were crucial in this project. Matthijs form I. Deegen & Zoon BV was a big help too. Big thanks to all of the above!

The first picture was taken by Robbert Jongkind. This work was made possible with the generous support of Stichting NDSM-werf and the Mondriaan Fund.