Residency time: July 2025
Show time: during Vruchtbare Grond festival
Where do you find inspiration?
My primary inspiration comes from my subconscious and the intersection between dreams and reality. Surrealism plays a central role in my work, as I love to derive fantasies from random moments in my life that I find visually or narratively compelling. I keep records of my dreams at night and try to find connections between them and certain moments or situations from my daily life. These connections often become the seeds of visual ideas that I then expand upon. Moreover, I draw inspiration from fashion moments that I enjoy experiencing. For instance, when I attended Paris Fashion Week, I loved capturing people's emotions, reactions, and spontaneous expressions in specific locations and moments. These snapshots serve as the fabric of my creative process—they’re like fragmented frames that help me explore how we perceive others and how others perceive us.
Why do you want to make art?
Art is my way of exploring the world internally. I also have a background in mathematics and
continue to conduct research in applied mathematics, which offers me an external lens to
examine the nature of the world. However, understanding the world solely from the outside is
never enough—we must also journey inward. For me, this internal pilgrimage is essential to
forging a deeper understanding of existence. Art allows me to form subtle connections with people’s minds. I cherish these connections because they transcend the limitations of time and space. When my artwork sparks a response or conversation, it’s as if a fragment of my spirit has quietly linked with someone else’s. Art also empowers me to gently address central themes of acceptance and empathy. I prefer not to confront social issues directly, but rather to touch on them delicately—offering people a fantastical perspective that reminds them: if otherworldly existences could be real, why can’t we simply embrace those who are already so similar to us in many ways?
When is your favorite time of day to create?
There are two times of day that I particularly love to create: just before sunrise and as the sun begins to set. In the early morning, I enjoy watching the sky transition from night into day—a liminal moment that inspires calm and clarity. Similarly, the golden hour at sunset is one of my most mentally active times. During these hours, I embrace solitude and fully immerse myself in my inner world, giving shape to the ideas that linger in my mind.