The story behind my new collection
Suddenly, almost everyone I know is afraid of a terrorist attack. They say: “it’s hitting very close to home now…” Not only fear, but anger is also rising and even our children are afraid. Every time I saw the news, I was scared, angry or worried. I felt down and therefore decided not to consume any more news. I wondered what we really need “the news” for, anyway? Who benefits from it? Which interests are involved? Is the news that I see neutral… or is it tainted in a way?
My new collection consists of mixed media paintings and objects. The news is the base for my art. Each artwork presents a collage of the news by means of international newspapers. By painting over them, the bad news becomes harder to see. However, the colors I use also represent the colored image of the news itself. The high gloss synthetic resin, which covers every painting and object, symbolizes how I tried to close myself off from the news. Still, no matter how hard you try to close yourself off from it, the news always finds its way to you, which is why the thick layer of paint sometimes peeps through the layer of resin and why the epoxy doesn’t cover everything.
How is the world portrayed? Is the news real? Or do you look at it through the colored glasses of the opinion of the newsmaker? How does the bad news feel to you when I put my colored filters over it?
This collection represents the current zeitgeist. With it, I want to make people aware of the impact that the events in the world have on us, the way they are presented in the news and how we look at that. Ask yourself: what am I looking at and what do I see?
