Artist Statement

We as 'society' were born and raised to look at our surroundings in a certain way, just like we were taught the names of object and what they represent. But since I can remember, I have always been interested in something more than what we see. Born in a family with no artistic aspirations whatsoever but a lot of love and imaginative spirit, I was raised by listening to endless stories from books, alternative cinema and playing with my parents' animals in the Eastern suburbs. Consequently, there lies my artistic motivation and topics of interest. Through my work I explore myself, share a side of me with the world. Reappearing elements such as identity, cultural references, intimate and family relationships on one hand, and the ‘state of mind’, memory and imagination on the other hand are the key concepts of my investigation.

When making work, I tend to take ‘something' from the previously done project, a small gem that I shape and build around. May it be material or immaterial, it represents the starting point of my research. However, not everything is clarified and fixed in the beginning. Embracing play, experimentation and intuition, I take a journey alongside my project, and through creating and reflecting I find the focus and sharpness. The division between what is conventionally known as fact and fiction is constantly challenged through a rather unconventional way of storytelling, too honest to be fictive, too abstract to be documentary. Characters, places, objects, charged by my passion for the mysterious and grotesque, perform my stories, share my ideas, feelings with the viewer. This involves working with teams and collaborations, in which I take both the roles of director and subject.

Instead of accepting a ‘division’, I believe that every medium becomes more and more fluid and fold into one another. Therefore my narratives are presented as a multi layered discourse between various media such as performance, photography, video and sculpture.