Installations
After graduating in the directions of painting, drawing and graphic art, I soon felt the need to work outside framed borders by creating (interactive) installations and environments.
This is an introduction on my installation art. You can also just navigate through my website and find out about those in connection with painting, performance, video, digital and photography, for it’s all linked. A good start for that is the portfolio tap.
Interactive
‘Triple Jump’ (1996) was my first interactive installation. Interaction existed through light and sound, connecting the outside surrounding and the inside space. The installation existed of a variety of objects. Light bulbs lit up according to surrounding city sounds outside, entering through a speaker. Outside, a display cabinet attached to the wall lighted up with the sounds that occurred inside. This subtle interaction simulated the concept of mutual influence with regard to inside and outside (world).
The work was also a first in an ongoing line of projects and works starting 1996, addressing human aspects within the harsh realities of ’nation states’, with a focus on identity, borders, power structures and geopolitical aspects in relation to (city) landscape. This one in particular was about the happenings in Srebrenica, concerning identity and the relationship with the fall of communism in eastern Europe.
Experienceable
The concept of of mutual influence regarding inside and outside (world) also played a role in installation ’Air’ (2011), only now there’s no objects, just the space which offers a simulated view on an outside within the inside that interacts with sounds produced by visitors and the outside surrounding. This work made the concept of ‘border’, which in fact is an artificial construct, experienceable, just by being there.
The reason that I was interested in creating interactive installations and allowing influences from outside to enter my work process, is probably because I sensed from an early age how everything is connected and that there's actually no beginning and no end. Separation is an illusion.
Total Installations
In 2014 I was invited by the Chinese European Art Center in Xiamen, China, my first artist residency. Prior tot that I created several installations for the 'Made in China' project, which were exhibited in several places; in public space and within an exhibition. In the gallery of CEAC I presented the first total installation ‘40 Titles’. After that, in 2025 the second at ‘Cacaofabriek Expo’ in Helmond, even bigger and with new installations.
Connecting
Connecting plays a major role in my installations that consist of multiple elements. Especially when different media are used. It's always a challenge to incorporate two dimensional work or video in a spacial setting. Elements that I use in site specific interventions are reused in my installations. Mostly in a different way. Because each situation has it's own necessity. Like these pink Chinese clotheslines that came into my work during an artist residency at the Chinese European Art Center in Xiamen. In the gallery exhibition I created a cube form with it, inspired by the way buddhist temples are structured. Before I drew lines, intervening with the existing space.
Political
My art is clearly also political, which is expressed in the projects and my installations. I do a lot of research and take side roads if necessary. I’m not interested in producing look-a-likes, although I incorporate recurring aspects in my works. Like home related objects, often in the form of furniture. And a lot of my works are closely related to or stem from aspects from my personal life. But not necessarily. It all depends on the project. The topics of course are interwoven with the reality of the world. A good example is sculptural video installation 'Time Table With Memory Holes' (2015).
Site or event specific
My installations come in existence 'sur place' and are often site or event specific. I always try to stretch or surpass 'boundaries'.
Photo: Outdoor installation in the garden of 'Institute for Contemporary Art' in Yerevan, 2018, where I was welcomed to work on my project 'Armenia' during an artist residency.