A soundmap of the farmer town Bergeijk

This map shows the sounds of the town of Bergeijk over 24 hours. You can see how the town grows in sounds in the beginning of the day, when the farmers go to their lands around the town to work. The big ploughs and trucks are clearly recognizable above all others sounds. When the morning proceeds, the children go to school. When they go home again later that day, also the farmers come back from their lands. From the houses comes the sound of diner being made, while the children play on the streets. After diner, the men go to the pub to talk about their day. Until it is time to go to bed, because the land does not plough itself. The church bells clearly mark every hour; all day, every day again.

Every sound is shown in a different way, depending on their frequency and rhythm. The map shows how the town seems to grow and shrink in sounds during the day. It is almost like it is breathing.

Bacteria tableware

Nowadays bacteria tend to fill people with fear for transferral of diseases and unexpected death. On every corner we are told to wash our hands with antibacterial gel, to kill every living creature present. We would almost forget that bacteria are also there to protect us form those diseases. And to help us eat, breathe and live.

I locked myself in a microbiological lab to learn more about bacteria. To see them grow, to understand what they need to survive: what they eat, how they get their energy, how they move and how they change. They got a personality in my eyes. They have needs and weaknesses. I grew the good bacteria that live in the bowel system. This is the place where bacteria outnumber our body cells. They help with the digestion of our food and protection of our body. By combining them in the objects that are needed to eat and drink, I create a direct connection between eating and the creatures that help us eat. People are in this way confronted with the good bacteria and maybe more interested in the purposes they have.

tubes with growing bacteria

microscopic photos of healthy bacteria

test -glass with bacteria

test

bacteria on textile. they change colors in different circumstances

test

the water gives a magnifying effect to the bacteria

double layered glass. the bacteria grows in between

eating object -bacteria growing on object that you can use for eating. even though these are good bacteria, would you eat them like this?

Ice stamps

These objects leave a secondary imprint on the skin. The skin reacts on the object and this is how an imprint is made. it is a reminder for where you are, to be conscious of your own body.

Ice has an interesting reaction on the skin. To mix the ice with something else, I look for new experiences and imprints the skin can give.

  Ice with stinging nettle -stinging nettle is used for painful joints and mosquito bites. The ice calms down the stingin until a very gentle prickle. The ice stamp leaves red bumps. The effect disappears faster, making the experience an interesting sensation.

Ice with salt- The hard piece of frozen salt rubs deep in the skin, taking layers of dead skin cells away and leving it clean and soft.

My father

Portrait of King Kong

Underneath his scary appearance, King Kong is a soft, tender, warm gorilla who is just misunderstood. If people would let him, they would see he just wants to care about someone. Feel the love and protection of King Kong when you put his broad shoulders around you.

How the meaning of food is changing

The meaning of food is always changing. Food is not just to feed ourselves anymore, but it is also a way of protection, of strength, an addiction, an obsession, a phobia.. We research different aspects of food and wondered how these would change in the future.
Will it influence us when food does not look like food anymore? When we are able to grow our own meat and also organs, will we see the eating of meat as cannibalism? If we rely on products to protect us and make us strong, will they eventually take over our whole body? Why do commercials care more about selling than telling the truth? And are we turning in to zombies who believe blindly everything that commercials tell us, without being able to see the difference between lies and truth?
These posters are an interpretation of these questions.

Portrait of an actor (dissolving in my surroundings)

I remember the nervousness right before I got on stage. Time after time I am repeating every single line I have to say, like I don't already know them by heart. I am aware of my surroundings; every laugh and cough from the audience, to my fellow actors straightening their clothes. Everything distracts me. Then I hear my cue. I get on stage and it is like I just step in my own room, ready to practise my part for the millionth time. The audience is not there anymore, my own anxiety fades away. It is like I dissolve in my surroundings. I am not this seperate self-conscious person anymore, but part of the bigger picture. I don't feel pressure to perform for my surroundings and my surroundings not for me. We are equal. I do what I have to do. After that I get off stage.