First intern Open studios Rijksakademie, April 2017
I remember getting up super early and being super excited to open my studio that day. I think I arrived at 06:00 in the morning, my studio was still all messy and I had the illusion to clean it up a bit before it all started. When I arrived I thought it was okay like this and let my studio stay messy, it felt more honest. At internal Open Studios only residents and advisors visit your studio. And you can visit everyone else’s studio. It’s not about judging each other’s work, but just looking around in a calm way to see what everybody is doing and to talk about what everyone is doing. I loved these internal days maybe even more than real Open studios where 8.000 people visit your studio.
It was the first time I was showing my video work and I remember how people stay in my studio watching my 70 minute movie completely from beginning till end. I also couldn’t believe I made something out of wood and was able to saw a circle. For this day I printed out 20 of my favorite poems, accompanied with some of my own writings, all bundles in A4 package, one for each resident or advisor.
At Rijksakademie I always felt so strong about presenting my world. Because in the first place you make a gesture to yourself, with your own space, for yourself, the space you are in almost every day. I love to remember this feeling.
