How do you describe your own art practice?
I try not to. Buuuut if I had to, I think I would describe it as a digital media-based practice – from the perspective of a romantic painter and storyteller.
Published by Jap Sam Books, Graphic design by Mainstudio (Edwin van Gelder). Photo: The Book Photographer
Which question or theme is central in your work?
I prefer to think that I don’t work around a single theme or question, but rather let myself be led by my curiosity. At the moment, I’m curious about processes of transformation over long periods of time. This can be physical transformations of landscapes, but also the transformation of ideas and narratives and how you can make these visible through storytelling. This is what my most recent work, RAABJERG, deals with; the transformation of a particular landscape due to both natural and human influences, and the way the human view of the landscape changes due to these transformations.
What was your first experience with art?
I think it must have been watching some of Giacometti’s sculptures during a school trip to Louisiana in Denmark in the 70s. And some years later in 1984, I watched the movie Style Wars about graffiti in New York. From then on, I knew I wanted to be an artist.
Published by Jap Sam Books, Graphic design by Mainstudio (Edwin van Gelder). Photo: The Book Photographer
What is your greatest source of inspiration?
Anything that transforms into something else.
Single channel video, stereo, duration 29:31 min.
What do you need in order to create your work?
Time to focus and concentrate. Time to let my mind wander. Time to be annoyed by my lack of progress. Time to think. Time to play with the material. Time to be bored. Time to go for long walks. And a deadline.
Published by Jap Sam Books, Graphic design by Mainstudio (Edwin van Gelder). Photo: The Book Photographer
What work or artist has most recently surprised you?
Last week, a student of mine made a wonderful video installation in which she captured a moment of intimacy between two people singing to each other, and managed to couple that with a realization of loss of nature and the other in an urban landscape made of paper. It was wonderfully light and cheerful, yet with a sense of profound loss.
On another level, documenta 15 was a real eye-opener that I’m still enjoying the reverberations of.
Single channel video, stereo, duration 30:00 min.
