- Biography
I create costume performances, installations and drawings.
Performance is my prime medium because it’s active, direct, time-based and energetic. I’m a very hyper-active person and I want to communicate with my audience.
I can’t stand being passive, I enjoy being in control.
When making a new work, I’m starting out with an autobiographical dilemma and relate it to in a broader social phenomenon. I enlarge this dilemma and focus on a way to create a situation that can translate this.
From here on I develop the performance with a character, a costume and a setting.
It’s all quite theatrical, and baroque. I use humor as a bate for my audience.
The usage of costumes is a necessity to transform into my characters. When wearing my costumes, i become my characters. The costumes cover me from head to toes. I walk differently, move differently and feel differently.
The costumes are made out of fabrics, ceramics, plastics, animal parts, protheses. I don’t work with a pattern, i moulage them intuitively around my body. I do make scaled sketches and i draw pictures related to the costume to get to know the shape, the ratios and the feel of it.
The masquerade helps the viewer and me to get in the situation i’ve created. It’s supported by lightning, setting and music.
I’ve always been fascinated by the manipulation of identity through dressing. Ever since I was young i wanted to be a fashion designer. Then i became to realize that it’s was the manipulation of the expectations of the other created by image-building that interested me most.
I’m inspired by the notion of the other in relationship to (contemporary) freak shows. The relationship between voyeurism, exploitation of another human being, the spectacle, it’s all such paradox with our moral humanist standards. They are an example of our unpleasant side.
The mechanism horror-movies use to showcase the morals of western society, exploit our fears and attract by repulsion are another example of this interest. I’m amazed by the ambiguity and dissonance of these human phenomenons.
I want to confront my viewer with the shadow sides of the mind. Make them experience emotions you don’t experience on a daily basis, cross their own borders in a time and place of mystery and paradoxes. My method can be described as aggressive, I violate the audience personal space.
There’s no room to decide if you want to be part of it.
- News
- Curriculum Vitae
Selection of Exhibitions and performances
2011 “Palace Party”, Kunsthalle Charlottenbourg, Copenhagen (DA) (performance event)2011 “Undercovers”, Art Bank, Vancouver (Canada) (performance event)
2011 “Direct Action 2011”, IAMTK, Berlin Performance Festival (video-screening) (DU)
2011 “Square eyes 3”, Caz Project Space, Cornwall (video-screening)(GB)
2011 “Variety Show”, WORM, Rotterdam (performance event)
2011 “live art/love art”, Trouwgebouw, Amsterdam
2011 “Re:Amsterdam”, Galerie 10, Amsterdam (group-exhibition with Inge Aanstoot, Joris Kuipers, Hidde van Schie, Heddy John, Dico Kruijse, Dag a.o.)
2011 “Dolf Henkes Ceremonial Price Award festivity”, Tent, Rotterdam (performance)
2011 “Onthullen, verhullen”, Theater de Veste, Delft (performance)
2011 “Woodmill sags”, Woodmill, London (UK)
(group exhibition/performance)
2011 “Pop up Show”, Kers gallery, Amsterdam (performance/group exhibition with Anouk Griffioen, Camille Smeets, Thomas Raemeckers)
2010 F.A.R.T.”, Hotel Quartier Du Point, Rotterdam (group exhibtion/performance)
2010 “DirectAction international performance festival”, IAMTK, Berlin (DE) (performance)
2010 “Ongekend”, Club Container,Rotterdam (group exhibition & artauction)
2010 “Play”, van Abbenmuseum, Eindhoven (performance Spartacus Chetwynd) (2010)
2010 “Openingsperformance”, Art Rotterdam (performance Abner Preis) (2010)
2010 “Portret Pavilion: facebook avant la lettre”, Kasteel Duivenvoorde, Voorschoten (group exhibition/performance, curators, gallerist and musuem directors presented their favorite portraits in the context of collection of Kasteel Duivenvoorden )
2009 “Non-stop music planet”, Futur en Seine, Parijs (FR) (performance i.c.w. Spartacus Chetwynd)
2009 “Museumnacht”, Goethe Institituut, Rotterdam (group exhibition/performance)
2009 “Nudist Barbeque”, South London Cultural Center, London (GB) (performance Spartacacus Chetwynd)
2009 “Moralitiy part 1”, Witte de With, Rotterdam (performance Spartacus Chetwynd)2009 ‘Spinoza”, Rozentheater, Amsterdam (group exhibition)
2009 “Obscene”, de Kade, Zaandam (performance i.c.w. De Poppekastkrakers)
2009 “Transmediale”, Planet Art, C-base, Berlijn (DE) (group exhibition/performance i.c.w. De Poppekastkrakers )
2009 “Ongekend”, Young Masters@Auction, Amsterdam (group exhibition/performance)2009 “Riders on the Worm”, Worm, Rotterdam (group exhibition/performance)
2008 “Hideaway”, Heden, DenHaag (performance i.c.w. Rosalie Monod de Froideville)
2008 “Dan zeg ik niet wat ik heb gezien”, het Langhuis, Zwolle (duo exhibition with Reinier Kranendonk)
2008 “Art Id” , sideshow of Art Rotterdam, Rotterdam (group exhibition)
2008 with Sabrina Basten, Marie Civikov, Efrat Zehavi and others
2007 “De symfonie van psychotische handen”, Buro Dijkstra, Rotterdam (duo exhibition with Olaf Mooij/performance)
2007 “Today’s Art festival”, Villa Nuts, Den Haag (group exhibition, i.c.w. Dennis de Bel)2007 “Peephow”, Zeebelttheater, Uitmarkt, Den Haag (performance)
2007 “Wereld van de Witte de With”, TENT, Rotterdam (performance Toine Horvers)
2007 “Vurige nachten”, Museumnacht, Rotterdam (performance)
2007 “Layla en Majnun”, Tropentheater, Amsterdam (performance)
2007 “Helden”, Wereld van de Witte de With, Rotterdam (performance)
2007 “Beautiful City”, Munster Skulptur Projekte, Munster (DE) (performance Maria Pask)
2007 “The game of questions”,de Nachten, de Singel, Antwerpen (BE) (peformance Dora Garcia Lopez)
2007 “999,99 euro show”, Buro Dijkstra, Rotterdam (group exhibition with Olaf Mooij, Jan Bokma, Eric Jan van de Geer a.o)
Commissioned work
“Kleinpolder in beweging”, commissioned by Woonstad Rotterdam 2011
Haunted House photos of inhabitants presented on billboard size posters, hung on the walls of buildings waiting for the changes of urban development
“KunstprojectKleinpolder”, commissioned by Woonstad Rotterdam 2010 Development and production of the television serie “D.o.k.t.e.r. Mette Spacekadettes Timecapsule”. A 4 episodes long television serie, researching history, present and future of the life of the inhabitants in a post-war neighbourhood undergoing urban development.
“Slapen aan het spoor”, commissioned by Wesd, Hotel Coen, Delft 2009 Developping an installation in a 4 star hotel room, responding to the coming of a new traintunnel.
“I Bridge You and You”, Rotterdam Zuidplein, Rotterdam commissioned by “I bridge you project” 2009 During the 4 day project “I bridge You”, iniated by the Observatorium, Yourcity and Chantal van Heeswijk,recordings were made in a walk-in-mini-studio, a private one-on-one inquiry with Young adolescents
Publications
“Grote Rotterdamse Kunstkalender 2012”, Trichis Publishing, 2011
“Resovision TV”, during London Frieze Art Fair, 2 time appearance and interview, London (GB) 2010
“Rotterdam TV”, broadcasting 4 episodes of the tv program “D.o.k.t.e.r. Mette Spacekadette’s Timecapsule”, 2010
“Ketel tv”, Portretteketete in working space 2009
“Zooi TV”, item about “d.o.k.t.e.r. Mette” at Museumnacht 2007
“Blend special magazine”, Tetem kunstruimte, Special, 2010
“BuroDijkstra ArtGallery 2005~2008 Part I”, artbook, 2009
“Rozentheater magazine”, article on exhibition “Spinoza”, 2009
“Beelden” article about the “Kunstambassade Rotterdam”, 2006
“Snag”, Either/Or uitgeverij, artbook i.c.w. Maartje van den Noort, Arti Suhkai, 2006
“Noordatlantisch licht”, Stichting Bep,Willem de Kooning jaar, catalogue 2005
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