Fish Factory

Artist statement:

In my current practice, I’m working around (abstract) language and translation. I notice that I’m losing my own language. I don’t make, build, sentences as I’ve learned. I miss subtleties and nuances. I notice that when I would like to say something I’m searching for the right form to say it by constantly making translations.

By making translations, on one hand, you lose material and on the other, you can gain information. This is depending on the translation itself but also on the viewer, who interprets. By making different works that have this translation in it I’m testing the structural limits of communication of which language and translation are part of. I want to extend this into absurdity. To make a multitude of images that all have the same meaning. In a way, all those images are working as a tool to the actual work. But for me ‘the tool’ is as important as ‘the actual work’. I see every translation I make as a language on its own. Within each language, there are nuances and subtleties that you only get to know when you know the language well.

I created a lexicon (based on embroidery patterns) for making images, which creates a threshold for the viewer. It’s a personal logic that is systematized. I hold on to this structure to build images that can be filled with new meaning – independent of the material, medium, or scale of the work. In this system, I leave space for ‘mistakes’. Making mistakes loosen up the work and create space for new forms and meaning. By using a lexicon that not everyone understands I create a problem with communication: what is the best form for information and meaning to function as well as possible?

Thank you, Lisette! :)