Can you briefly introduce yourself; who are you and what kind of art do you like to make?
If you combine a toddler with a passion for anti-capitalism + throwing a firecracker in the sewer, you get me! I’m an artist, illustrator and performer who cares about human rights. In my art I take on the role of commentator on socio-cultural aspects of modern life and constantly questions my surroundings. I use making art as a way to make sense of the chaos in my head. Because my head is full: full of memes, sensuality, feminism, trends, thrift store junk, collective memories, urban legends, stories and bizarre observations. In my work, I want to lure you into my brain with colourful and recognisable style, where you constantly will find my love for absurdity. I work as a multidisciplinary artist, using different media such as painting, performance, film, audio and installation. But my praxis always starts off with drawing since I have a background in illustration.
I worked for various clients such as de Volkskrant, Follow the Money, AD, FOAM, Tivoli Vredenburg and One World. And now for Volkshotel!
What are your sources of inspiration?
I’m inspired by everything ugly around me. In an attempt to make something nice and fail in that process is very inspiring to me. I tend to pay attention to the out of the ordinary and collect this by taking photo’s or taking the object from the streets. I have a big archive of meme worthy images and trinkets that I use as reference. And other than that I’m inspired by current affairs and how they affect people, animals and surroundings in different (absurd) ways. And I’m interested in how this changes our social interaction with one another.
How did you come up with the concept for the window painting? How did that process go?
I started off with making kinky bugs. But I wanted to incorporate more pride into the illustrations. So the characters slowly formed into a march. It’s a parade of my silly characters that celebrate all love and identities. Pride started off as a protest, and we are for sure not done with the fight for equality and rights. But for this small parade on the windows of the Volkshotel, I wanted my characters to celebrate queer joy. One of my favourite type of joys!
In which details do we clearly see your visual signature, and how would you describe that?
You can see my style in the faces, clean lines and geometric shapes. And there is always something uncomfortable about my characters. But I don’t mind them being awkward. They are drawn with a lot of energy, just like the human I am.
Is there anything else you would like to share about this project?
Wees gewoon lekker jezelf schat, laat de haters je niet gek maken <3
Pictures by Sabine van Nistelrooij
