Tell us a little about your creative background.
I’ve always been surrounded by creative people, growing up in a house where we made a lot of things ourselves. Both my grandmother and mother were always sewing beautiful dresses and knitting big jumpers. If anything broke my mother was fixing it. When I was 5 years old I wanted to make my own seat, so I hammered away in the garden for the whole afternoon, when it was time for Sesame Street, I finally had my own chair in front of the TV and… I fell through it. Of course I have no idea about ‘construction’ but the taste and passion for creating remained. After some searching for my passion in the fashion academy I arrived at the art academy, slowly leaving product design behind and increasing the amount of autonomous art work.
Where do you find inspiration?
My inspiration mainly comes from astonishment with the world. The city, the people around me, the media, the way we interact, the speed of everything that passes by and then trying to put back a little bit of the quietness.
How did you come to exhibit your work at Volkshotel?
Before the Volkskrant building was a hotel I rented a place in the basement – a large dusty workshop where I made 3D objects. I unfortunately had to leave and didn’t immediately find a new workplace so I relied on the kitchen table at home and there arose the series, ‘Brain Flow’. I had to find a way to make art with as little space as possible so I started with a new medium – collage. This was proof to me that with the urge to create and the artist in yourself, it does not matter whether have a studio or not. If I had stayed in the Volkskrant building I would probably not have made this series, so every disadvantage has its advantage.
Can you explain your series ‚BRAIN FLOW‘
BRAIN FLOW is a series of 100 collages where the main character transforms. Thoughts, they just keep coming. Unannounced and uninvited. They tumble over each other, by each other, and sometimes even into one another. According to F. Scott Fitzgerald the test of intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function. The same as when thoughts come into play with collages, multiple images, multiple worlds, these worlds collide, overlap and reinforce each other to form one original whole. In ‚Brain Flow‘ the ‘main’ characters transform, so there will be new layers and insights. Look quickly and it seems recognisable. Look a little longer and you will be taken to an unusual, original world.
Why do you think your Art is suited to Volkshotel?
The pieces in this series are quite small, so they fit well in the intimate spaces in Werkplaats. They’re also very colourful which is enhanced by the crazy yellow walls. Not to forget of course that without Volkshotel this series wouldn’t even exist.
Come and see Marte’s work in our Entresols 4&5 or check out her website: http://studiomarte.nl/
