My artistic work consists of collages on paper and textile, photographs, three-dimensional still life’s and site specific actions and projects.

In my work I reflect on human emotions and behavior. I investigate the results of this behavior that flow out of the interaction and (dis)connection between the inside and the outside world. Central themes in my work are the human being and its behavior, the human body and the surroundings in which humans live and move. 

Photography is the main medium which I work with, though, the intention behind the images differs. I distinguish between found, staged and constructed photography. A photograph could be an end product. However the act of taking a photo could also be a means to fulfill another purpose, for example in a social context.

As an artist I move between observing, finding and registering on the one hand and reacting, organizing and constructing on the other. The found image versus the newly created image. I reflect upon the moment between outside and inside and vice versa. The starting point for my photographs, collages, still lives and actions are reflections on my own experiences. I observe human behavior, relate it to my own, process, reposition, and clarify its meaning. The information I gain is being processed into artistic works.

Found
My found images show subjects as they “are”, how I have found or hit upon them. The images each have their expressive power, but work together in the form of a series. 

Staged
I stage my images to tell a more personal and specific story. For this purpose, each image has its own function, like a scene in a film, and altogether they make the photo story.

My actions and projects involve photography and are also staged. The photographical image or the act of photographing functions as connection between people or as visual proof that a certain action of event  has taken place.

Constructed
A constructed photo or collage is entirety composed or built up and consists out of literally separate images, image parts and objects. Coincidence and spontaneity play a major role during the process of constructing. The image is not predetermined and there is room for new elements and spontaneous promptings.

A tension arises between recognizing and using the value of a found image as such, and creating an artificial situation that would not have been there otherwise, to convey a message. In my artistic process I ask myself the following questions:

• What presents itself as soon I am open to it? Am I able to actually perceive it and make connections between the different situations in which I have found these treasures?
• Where is intervention desirable or necessary and how does this added, personal layer contribute to the expressiveness of the image?
• To what extent does my spontaneous and intuitive way of working of constructed images, create space for new layers and how can I identify and classify these layers?

Collage
Besides own photographical material, I also use found images for my collage work. Every single image that I use was made with a different context, which allows me to combine situations that are not related and to work in layers. Connections between objects, people and places can be made freely, independent of time, space and perspective. I work both analogue and digital.

Collage making is a way to literally create an image out of nothing and to slowly build it up. In contrast to painting, the material I use is already there and depicts some kind of a reality. ‘Real’ situations are the starting point for my collages and ‘reality’ is my working material. In the same way, our dreams and thoughts also consist of ‘real’ images. In our subconscious mind we combine the different events that we have witnessed and stored in our brain into ‘inner images’. A collage is a visualized and ‘flattened’ thought or dream and is my way of showing how multi layered and connected everything in life is.

Photography
I mainly photograph places and things, sometimes also people. I explore my own surroundings with the help of photography and observe the interaction between the human being and its self-created and cultivated environment. We can always influence how our surroundings looks like. Our direct surroundings are a product of our own actions and is therefore changeable. These changes are interesting to investigate with a photo camera. My photo series represent the energy and the traces that have left behind after a particular use of a place.

Three-dimensional
The three dimensional still lifes that I make are composed of existing, collected, found or donated materials and objects. I glue, bind, stack or spontaneously place them together and then photograph them. They represent persons, relationships between people or certain situations and can be seen as summaries of a situation or the status quo of that moment. 

Action
Actions are carried out with voluntary cooperation and the help of visitors or viewers on site. The situation in which an action takes place is staged and built by myself or constructed with the help of a team. Photographs are produced as proof of the action, whereby the visitor and its behavior are an essential part of the picture.

My main goal is to increase awareness and understanding about situations and events in human life through art. In the first place by myself and once I have ‘understood’, the information can be passed on to others. I do this by making photographs, three dimensional still lifes, collages, site specific actions and by teaching.