Maaike Meinderstma: Robinienhof
Interview: Gamze Can. Published on 16. SEP 2024.
— Are you familiar with Gelsenkirchen and the GOLDSTÜCKE? What motivated you to apply for the Open Call?
I know Gelsenkirchen and GOLDSTÜCKE through Media Art Friesland in Leeuwarden. When I saw the open call, I was captured by the theme and the new connection it could bring to my work. Besides that, the open call was a great opportunity for me as a starting artist to take the next step and work with large-scale projection in public space.
— How would you describe your artistic practice?
I’m a media artist that works a lot with performance, film and installation. The body is a central theme in my work and I explore it through relating it to the brain, movement and our environment.
— What aspects were particularly important to you during the creation of your artwork?
I made this work during the cold spring months in the Netherlands. I would go out with myself, my suitcase and my camera to a place near the Ems where at that time of year no one is around. I think being there entirely alone and walking, helped to feel a sense of desolation that I hope to show in the final work.
— What core idea inspired your current work, and what message do you want to convey with it?
The work doesn’t have one core idea, but rather a web of associations and meanings that can be connected to it. The work was meant as a gesture and a moment in time: a figure keeps walking with her suitcase to an unknown destination, a journey without a beginning or end. Where might she be going? Is she searching for something?
— How does the public space influence the design and presentation of your art? Are there specific elements of the environment that you have incorporated into your work?
What I like about presenting this work in public space is that the often busy and crowded places of the city seemingly form a contrast with the emptier and nature-driven place in the work. However, I think both places have a lot in common. A lone person walking, searching or assured, and an environment that is ever-changing.
— Do you have a favorite artwork from this year’s GOLDSTÜCKE program?
One of my favorite works is the work of Zeineb Kaabi, which I had the honor of seeing at SEE Djerba (TN) this summer, but I’m excited to be impressed by new works in the city of Gelsenkirchen this October.