ZELF again

Today kids museum Villa Zebra sent me some really nice pictures of their semi-permanent exhibition ZELF! The exhibition consists of six interactive art installations that are tucked away in a big box. By opening one or more doors these installations are revealed and 3-6 year olds can get their hands dirty (metaphorically speaking). Together with Renée Reijnders and Geeske de Graaff I created a hospital where kids can construct new human beings with the fabric body parts. 

The only time I've seen the exhibition was when it was heaving with kids. Which is how it should be of course. But it is nice to see it in a serene setting - it will probably never be as peaceful again as in this photo shoot...

 

 ∧ The installation next to us is by famous children's book illustrator Thé Tjong-Khing. I'm absolutely thrilled my work is exhibited next to his; he is one of my heroes!! 

Photos by Hester Blankenstijn and Mike Bink.

Shelved

A while back I finally got around to putting some shelves up in my studio to display my collection of zines and illustration related magazines. And recently I finally got around to taking a picture of it. I now I'm finally getting around to actually blogging about it! I'm pretty pleased with it, I wouldn't go as far as to say it ties the room together, but it definitely brightens the place up. 

(click to enlarge)  

 

On the upper shelf, from left to right: The Illustrated Ape, Can your Monkey do the Dog by yours truly, The Cardigan Heart by Lizzy Stewart, Skelet Man by Geeske de Graaff, Brain Blood Volume 2., by Ian Watson, Did you know that Flapjacks can Rhyme? by Sarah Edmonds, Birds of a Feather by Saskia Haex, Monotonos by Albert van Nood, ...

On the lower shelf: a couple of zines I bought at Desert Island in Brooklyn NY, a zine I got through my subscription to Zine of the Month, Nobrow magazine, Egel & Ballon by Jeroen Funke, a couple of issues of A Sick Zine and Zo Ordinair by Gees Voorhees.

Special mention goes out to A Sick Zine, a zine that was born in 2010 during a workshop I taught with Geeske at the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam. Tonight the boys of A Sick Zine will be presenting their fifth issue - De MEGAZINE - in style at Roodkapje, Rotterdam.  The release will coincide with the opening of an exhibition on A Sick Zine, which is up till June 17th. They also made a great video to show you how the zine is made. WITHOUT THE USE OF A COMPUTER (this was the golden rule in our workshop and I'm happy to see they're still sticking with it)!

Their zines usually sell like the proverbial hot cakes, so (pre-)order from their website!

Do It Yourzelf!

Tomorrow the semi-permanent exhibition ZELF! opens in Villa Zebra, Rotterdam!! The exhibition consists of six art installations that have been created specifically for 3-6 year olds. One of the installations is a little hospital where kids can create new human beings with the (fabric) body parts I made together with Renée Reijnders and Geeske de Graaff. The way the exhibition space is designed is a work of art in itself, so you should really go and take a look! You can either go to the opening at 10.00 and have coffee and cake, or at 17.00 if you fancy a drink and a snack.

The big and bold and beautiful

It's here and I'm in it! Together 365 other artists, photographers, fashion-, product- and graphic designers, illustrators and architects... De Grote Rotterdamse Kunstkalender 2012. It's a big and bold and beautiful thing: A3 sized and nearly 3 kilo's! 

∧ My page! 

I'm happy and proud be featured alongside good  friends: Gees Voorhees ∨

and people I went to school with: like David Elshout ∨

and Pim Palsgraaf ∨

and other people whose work I admire: like Koen Taselaar ∨

and Rufus Ketting aka Homey Universalis ∨ 

 and true heroes: Co Westerik ∨

Just to name a few! So €27.50 will get you 366 pieces of art, which I call a pretty good deal. Order it online here.

Another day at the office

 

I'm knee deep in embroidering and sewing for a project for children's museum Villa Zebra in Rotterdam. A few years back I made, together with Geeske de Graaff, life sized body parts from fabric for the exhibition Completely broken at Villa Zebra. The kids could put the body parts together with poppers to create new human beings, ANY WAY they wanted to. The cool thing about the body parts was that there was something 'wrong' with all  of them: one is cross eyed, another one has pimples, another braces. Some limbs have wounds or are broken, there's a beer-belly, a leg with varix, a foot with six toes, and so on.

Now the dolls are going to be part of a semi-permanent exhibition at the museum. Therefore they first needed a good wash because they were dirty. Very dirty.

 

Pretty disgusting, innit?!  

Some of the dolls need to be repaired. Especially the felt we used became a bit rough after being handled by hundreds if not thousands of little hands.

Villa Zebra also commissioned some new body parts, which I'm creating with my friend Renée Reijnders. This baby in distress will be added to the collection, along with a dog with 5 legs, a trunk with an 'outie' bellybutton, the arm of a very clumsy painter and more. Grand opening will be at the end of November!