Before I went to Art School I was educated as a furniture maker. I still use my skills during my part-time job as ‘Lead preparator & IT Supervisor’ at Kunstinstituut Melly in Rotterdam. And I love to build and invent technical ‘things’, not only in my own practice but also during (pre)production at Kunstinstituut Melly.
During the lst 20 years I became very skilled in ‘paperhanging’: I glue all kind of difficult papers, photo’s or prints on any surface but especially on walls. I am very experienced in precise and demanding jobs preferably in the Arts.
The use of technical skills has become a field of research. I research my own skills, the politics of skills, the gender of skills and the ‘art’ of skills:
— learning a skill doesn’t mean loosing your handwriting / learning a skill draws you on your subject / learning a skill means hours and hours of practice, confronting yourself with your gestures, your thinking / learning a skill does not mean loosing your content / learning a skill does not mean you loose your urgency / learning a skill is art in itself / learning a skill does not mean you are not critical—