About me

I have a fascination for connections that we make as human beings, with ourselves, each other, and our environment. The common thread is language. Language as a means of expression and communication. Language of the word, of the body and of the image. I ask research questions. What does connection mean? What is the role of language? How does it work and why does it often not work? I unravel the questions by means of (existing) objects, words, and the body. Where it rubs, that’s where my search begins. 

Biography 

As a child I had the opportunity to experience the expression possibilities of the language of dance. This is where my focus on body language lies. As a teenager I discovered the power of verbal language. This made me decide to study speech therapy, to help people who cannot make optimal use of verbal language. As an adult I discovered the possibilities of visual language. I became skilled at this through art education and as a self-taught artist. 

Personal and professional experiences with people with brain injury and dementia, for whom the cognitive side of language is or will gradually be lost, have driven me to a more philosophical approach to language and connection. Scientific depth in these aspects of language was brought into focus by my study Cultural and Social Sciences (Maastricht University, master’s thesis Met Alzheimer in gesprek - In conversation with Alzheimer’s).

Research

Research is central to both scientific projects and my work as an artist. My exhibitions and performances are reflexive and conceptual. I use a wide range of expressions, such as videos, photos, installations, handwriting, ready-mades, and my own objects. Materials include paper, sand, wood, glass, clay, textiles, and paint. The works can be seen as experiments, collections, props, ‘stills’, of the journey of discovery into language and connection. My passion for dance shines through the works. Not literally, but as rhythm, space, time, and movement. 

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Exhibitions (usually based on selection)

Academy HouseTthe Big Church (temporary annex Museum The Fundatie), Zwolle (NL), Kunstmuseum The Hague (NL), ECI Culture Factory, Roermond (NL), Gallery Stevens, Maastricht (NL), Teseum Museum, Tongeren (B), Beguinage Church, Sint Truiden (B), Grand Commandery Alden Biezen, Bilzen (B) and at various other locations, see below.

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