I participated in an open call for the summer school at the Alps Art Academy in Switzerland. Below is my application. At 3 june I heard that I am selected to participate.
https://alpsartacademy.ch/
BIOGRAFIE
Since 2019 I have been studying at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, as a fine art sculpture student. English education. In addition to my studies I work as a pediatric intensive care nurse at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam. I play in a jazz combo as an amateur alto saxophonist and I'm an avid hiker and love camping. I want to be in nature as much as possible, also because that's where I get my inspiration. I live on a houseboat with nature all around me.
Artist statement: My artworks are a personal story with urgent themes about the environment, nature, but also waste and our throw-away society. The work arises from my own living environment, both in the use of materials, such as the water on which I live and the trees around my houseboat that I draw. The work is diverse, many different materials and media are used, sometimes text as well. Some works are interactive, such as paper sculptures that move when you walk between them or that require you to walk slowly so that they don't fall over. Another work allows the visitor to experience dried leaves by looking closely and listening to the sound while lying on a leaf cushion. The artworks stem from an enthusiastic interest in the world around me. Just by walking, slowing down and looking.
Exhibitions:
Many exhibits for review in the academic galleries.
Group exhibition:
March 2022 Organized with fellow students on our own initiative without supervision from the academy in Billytown, The Hague.
Writing:
October 2021 "I will see", essay on the discovery, power and art of seeing.
Nov 2021 "Gripped understood"- essay about works of art that touch me and why.
Open calls:
January 2021 - Gate of the North - Rotterdam;
Participating in a contest near my house to improve the area. Both a highway and a railway bridge cross the water and a design is requested. I submitted several ceramic tiles in different shades of green and blue with a wavy motion in 3D that can be tiled randomly. Rejected.
March 2022 – Tini mini Room - Dordrecht;
Participation with 5 charcoal drawings on A3. Selected to exhibit both online and in the Tini Mini Room gallery. Opening: Sat 21 May 2022
April 2022 – Anonymous Drawings – Berlin;
A conceptual art and exhibition project. Each participating artist becomes part of a collective work of art where hierarchies are completely absent. Selected for the exhibition from June 18 – August 31, 2022 Galerie im Körnerpark in Berlin, Germany.
Course:
Jan - Jun 2022 English language course according to IELTS - Cambridge English.
PROJECT PROPOSAL
What is possible in such a beautiful inspiring environment was the first thing I thought. I started sketching, cutting and pasting with a focus on the beauty but also the fragility of the mountain area.
I thought of a painting by Rembrandt van Rijn's "The Night Watch". You can view the painting from behind a drop-off line. You can't get any closer, the painting is too fragile and precious. My question is whether this also applies to nature. Isn't nature also very vulnerable and precious? Do we see more when it's dropped off, when we're reminded that it's "beautiful"? This question continues to haunt me. I would like to search for interesting places alone or with the group and set drop-off lines on the spot. Does the visitor see differently or with more interest if there are poles with a cord? The concept is easy to implement with wooden posts and a red cord which I can take with me.
I like to zoom in and take pictures of details I come across along the way. The photos can be printed on A4 or A3 format and place them next to the photographed object so that the visitor is attracted by what is already there. For example, the bark of a tree, a plant or the water that flows over a rock. It can be printed on water-soluble paper, so it won't leave any marks on the landscape. Sticks or other found material can be used for the posts. It can also be printed on special paper which you can add on fabric, to reuse it later for a bag or other utensil. I can make a simple design myself as a souvenir for the audience.
I also find it interesting to give the mountain audience earplugs or a blindfold so that they experience reality differently. By using one less sense, you have to shift your focus. By using a blindfold you really have to listen to the sounds around you, no matter how soft, you are no longer "distracted" by the sight. Smell is also experienced more. With earplugs you look differently and more intensely, I was forced to experience that myself. This work could be a happening where everybody is participating.
I'm interested in the power of the ordinary and everything that's already there. I make works of things I find, such as the broken plants from the water or the leaves on the ground, I like experimenting. I'd like to have the water flow out of the stream, and back into the river with natural materials in a different way, but I'll have to try this on the spot. The sound work with the wooden beams arose on the spot in the forest because I saw the beams lying around and spontaneously started to "compose", at home I processed it into a sound piece. The compositions with the water birds are also created in this way, it starts with listening and looking around. The “Waterbook” came into existence because I looked at the water and got interested. The drawing of the beech because I am fascinated by that beautiful beech. The works with the leaves were also created from that point of view. When I moved the leaves the inspiration for the work came. I thought the sound was so special, wanted the visitor to experience it and discover the movement of the leaves. I love to discover and create by myself, but working with others is a great opportunity during the summerschool.
If I am accepted, which I hope, I will go hiking first. I've already found two possible hiking tours. There is a strong connection with my work and walking and the mountains are so inspiring before starting the summerschool.
MOTIVATION
Parts of my essay about looking tells a lot about me and my motivation.
I’ll see:
Six years ago I fell on a slippery square on my head, I had such a knock that I stayed in bed in the dark for weeks. I learned to distinguish the sounds and moods of the waterbirds, because I live on the water. Continuous headaches took over a year. After months I was able to walk short distances. I couldn't stand noise so I use earplugs, leaving only my view. The slow pace and the fact that it was the only outing of the day made me want to take it all in. Resting was a big part of my activities, and to relieve my neck I lay on my back and saw the world many times a day from a supine position, which is interesting. I couldn't bear crowds and noises and that made me decide to travel alone to the mountains. With a backpack, and a small sleeping bed to rest on my way, I walked the Tour du Mont Blanc. This hiking tour changed my life! I don't think I've ever seen so much, been so "open" to the world around me because I had enough time and didn't walk much or fast. Master Eckhart said that you must have an empty temple at your disposal for God to enter. I went without expectations, everything was a win. Was I so empty that I had room to see and reflect on everything on my path? The world around me, especially close up now appears to be my biggest source of inspiration. A friend pointed out to mention curiosity as a strong personal characteristic while writing the motivation letter for the art academy. During hikes in my youth through Norway and wildcamping, I already set out to discover. Could play for hours along streams, wondering where the water comes from I followed the stream. Loved climbing trees, sitting among the leaves, watching and listening.
In wonderment I find depth. The summerschool is a great opportunity to delve deeper into topics which interest me, a good foundation for the exam year and inspiration for my thesis that will be about hiking, and the healing power of nature. It will be a privilege to work with people who share the same interests, which is not always the case in my current life. My teacher Vibeke Mascini, introduced me to teachers who didn't know me: "Aleida is the most enthusiastic, motivated and productive student I have ever seen" I hope I can show that this summer!
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