AIR Nieuw & Meer, Amsterdam - HF-welding machine at atelier Rens Bouma, photographer Iris Woutera.
Coaching trajectory Nieuw & Meer: HF-welding / airtight sculptures
10-2020/ 12-2020
For three months, Oct-Dec 2020, I was Artist in Residence at Nieuw & Meer in Amsterdam. In 2018 I could do a first Artist in Residence here. Subsequently, I had the opportunity to return to follow a coaching trajectory with air sculpturist Rens Bouma.
Nieuw & Meer
Over 100 artists and affiliated businesses have settled on an area of approx. 9000 m2. In 1988, the former Rijksdomeinen’s storehouse for munitions was squatted and soon after legalized. To accommodate a diverse variety of visual and applied arts are represented. Located in a natural and ecological niche part of the Hoofdgroenstructuur of Amsterdam (Ecological Main Structure) at the edge of the Amsterdam Forest. Nieuw & Meer is managed ecologically. (https://nieuwenmeer.nl, n.d.)
Spread over two years, I lived and worked at Nieuw & Meer for six months. What I found significant about my stay was the direct inspiring contact with nature, the possibility to meet exceptional artists, and to be introduced to disciplines less familiar to me: for instance, the processing of metal. In 2018 I worked on a first presentation of project Crackleware. In both 2018 and 2020, the main reason for my stay was to work on the project BLOB.
Material try-outs HF-welding, photographer Iris Woutera..
BLOB – Binary Large Object
A new sculpture work including a performance, video and photography/ drawings.
This work explores the human body dealing with strong emotions like 'fear', resulting in our most basic reactions; fleeing, fighting and freezing.
I will conduct research on literature and movement techniques. And react on this research by making sculpture worksthat have a certain weight and tenacity.
Coaching
Ever since I met Rens Bouma (visual artist) in her atelier at Nieuw & Meer in 2018,
I wanted to learn from her new techniques, which turned out to be possible in 2020. Bouma developed several ways to capture air with airtight materials and techniques that result in floating, seemingly weightless objects.
During three months, I could follow an intensive coaching trajectory. Bouma could give an introduction to new plastics and materials and how to process these materials through HF-welding (High-Frequency Welding Machine). It was inspiring to start a whole new domain, exploring the working of gravity.
Material try-outs HF-welding, photographer Iris Woutera.
Material try-outs HF-welding, photographer Iris Woutera.
Presentations/ Covid-19
Due to Covid-19 measures my research presentation was cancelled at the end of my residency in December 2020. As well I stumbled on the fact that the work BLOB involved ‘touch’ as a main sensory instrument, and this seemed not possible in the pandemic. That is why I postponed the development of the project entirely. Instead I started working on a new project called Nerve, which integrates social distancing in an instinctive manner.
Luckely I could work further on project BLOB at the beginning of 2022, in my atelier 'de Achtertuin' in Rotterdam.And the first presentation was held at 'de Achtertuin' during Art Rotterdam 2022.
Up to date information about presentations you can find here.
Location 'de Achtertuin'' in Rotterdam. My atelier, rehearsal space and photography/film location during the BLOB process in 2022.
Collaborations
Material coach Rens Bouma
Performers Anna Riley-Shepard, Charlotte Laan, Kim Hoogterp, Mayke van Veldhuizen, Nicole van de Berg,
Fernanda Gonzales Morales, Rosanna ter Steege
Sound artist Dianne Verdonk
Editor of this blog post Kim Hoogterp