Sunday 27 January 2013

The Place To Be

Bison sculpture at Cartesius lyceum Amsterdam was one of the Graduation works
for my BFA at Gerrit Rietveld 2012

Saturday 19 January 2013

When Are You Gonna Love Yourself ?

There is a secret visual langue that slowly sheds off its camouflage to reveal its presence. A brave new generation of film makers rises to tell different stories about the GBLT* community. We might still end up dead in the end or use great amounts of drugs, these clichés are still current but fortunately movie characters have (recently) developed to a much larger emotional scale than we've ever seen before. They don't wear high heels and don't die of AIDS all the time. For me that change came apparent with Jonah Markowitz's brilliant movie SHELTER.  A great surf movie about love, honor and commitment. Where it feels like the main characters incidentally are gay or dealing with their feelings towards a person of the same sex. Movies like WEEKEND (2011) and Keep The Lights On (2012) derive from that level and present to us a whole new intimacy between men. They fall in love, struggle, deal with their families and friends and fight. They both made a huge impact on me and I'm sure that no matter what your sexual preference is, they'll find a way to your heart and place something of impeccable value there. ENJOY

*abbreviation for the Gay Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender community

A new age in cinema with the arrival of Keep The Lights On and WEEKEND
'Straight people like us as long as we conform to their set of rules. Why don't we shove it down their throats because they shove it down our throats all the time, being straight....straight story lines, everywhere, in books, on billboards, magazines, everywhere! But no we mustn't upset the straights. Shhhhh watch out, the straights are coming. Let's not upset them, let's hide in our little ghettos, let's not hold hands, let's not kiss in the street, no.' 

Glen in WEEKEND

Thursday 10 January 2013

Show Me Your Teeth


You appeared suddenly, soaring the sky screeching of hell and fire. Burning so bright that you'd left traces in the waters below.  Life fell silent. Observing the fierce energy you transmitted. Clouds took refuge. The heavens turned purple. I went back to the spot I saw you yesterday. But you were nowhere to be seen. Wild things shouldn't be tamed but savored for as long as they last.

Wednesday 9 January 2013

It Will Make You Strong

No Title
Conté Crayons drawing on paper
52x36cm 2013
Disagreement is a rich source to bounce off new ideas. It's a force that cannot be contained nor grasped. The collision turns around old habits and thoughts, creating space for new things to arise. A opportunity to make visible what is essential. The storm is temporarily, almost like a side effect. Do not pay to much attention to it. The consequences on the other hand may last for a longer period of time.  And with every rearrangement we change, alter and learn. And even though I agree that peace and harmony are excellent states of being, I also state the importance of conflict and disagreement. Once we take in account the fact that we hardly understand life on this planet nor our purpose on it, we can look at our relationships with that same layer of ignorance. Do we not all believe in the 'Happily Ever After' syndrome and everything that deviates from that storyboard is in one way or another frowned upon. But if you (like i do) believe that life is eternal, there is no such thing as death; we come and we go. Our lives are like the flapping wings of a butterfly; moving air, space and time. 


Death is only a door. One closes and another opens * 
*Quote Sonmi-451 Cloud Atlas

That's all there is to it. You'll be surprised that whatever the outcome of your life will be, it's actually all GOOD! No matter what you've done, there is only love and the absence of love. Which is to say there is only love. Even in its absence, what is absence but something that might be present but what we just don't perceive at a particular moment? 


No Title
Conté Crayons drawing op paper 36x52cm 2013
Take these new drawings I've finished yesterday. They are the first works after my period at the Rietveld. So there is no interference by teachers, no feedback by students. But they do find their kick-start from a disagreeing energy. A confrontation that was in the making for weeks! And when it got addressed it exploded into my creativity. It might not make the people happy who are at the centre of this conflict but sometimes mud must be flown. So it can settle down again in different proportions. So we know all is good and full of love.

Tuesday 8 January 2013

Fringe Fest Sweden 2012

'Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards'
Søren Kiekegaard

From Amsterdam to Stockholm

The new  year is among us for over a week now and I've just started looking back at the old one. The month of December tends to make people more reflective, appreciative and therefor sentimental? The sun sets and rises again, like all other days of the year. But the closer we get to the end of a certain calendar the more excitement we radiate into the air. Well, it did not happen to me. Nor did I create such a mood. That is to say not until I received a 'special' card. It sat on my desk for a week. Waiting for me to be ready for its message. And when I did open up to its content it mirrored the enormous scale of the previous year. Each shard had its own tale; it's own experience with a choice. Do I look back at it with feelings of joy or feelings of anger? There is no good or bad, its just a choice of preference. For I cannot recall a year that is packed with so many crossed boarders, creative struggles and adventurous celebrations at the same time! This Water Dragon year is top-notch!



One of the highlights is the participation of my 'Pony Performance' at STOFF Fringe Fest in Stockholm. And not just the performance nor the festival itself, but the actual journey towards Stockholm was magnificent! To drive up there in a camper van stacked with  over 200 toy horses, made possible with the financial support of many private funders who absolutely believed the necessity of this performance to be seen abroad was, well a dream come true! And to have access to other artists and see other performances, installations and exhibits was the icing on the cake. Have a look at the recap of the 2012 STOFF edition in the video above. The year of the Dragon will last only for another four weeks so make 'm count!