Lives in Maastricht, the Netherlands / at the moment for an artist in residency in London at Unit1 Gallery
Website http://www.sannevaassen.com/
How do you describe your own artistic practice?
I like to think of my work as like dismantling a fine watch and then putting it back together again. It might have once read Rolex or Casio on the dial but the object has been slightly altered in my hands. What has been added is a conceptual footnote through which we can understand and familiarize ourselves with what is before us slightly better and therewith the world around us. At its essence, I hope to pinpoint ways we as a global community might be able to understand each other better by speaking a more universal language, one that taps into nature, humanity and a broad interest in what we see and feel around us.
Which question or theme is central in your work?
By exanimating, analysing and notating natural phenomena I try to question the man-made culture. I like to play with the established traditions, languages and symbols that we use. For example the work Flags; I reduced official flags of countries into loose threads, which are then delivered to an experienced weaver from the concerned country. The weaver makes on his turn a new canvas, according to his private, personal method. This is not only resulting in all kinds of possible sizes and shapes, but is also a celebration of the private visual language, the identity of the weaver. An object that symbolizes a nation and a country then becomes a platform for an individual, his visual language and his craft.
What was your first experience with art?
I remember a specific musty, sharp nice smell.
What is your greatest source of inspiration?
Identity, family, archaeology, echoes, the evolution of human behavior, water, structures in society and nature, the smell of my memories, faith in money, symbols, senses, language, traditions, time, the brain.
What do you need in order to create your work?
Thoughts, conversation, context, reflection, senses.
What work or artist has most recently surprised you?
I fell in love with Alvin Lucier – I Am Sitting In A Room in 2017 during Documenta in Athens Conservatoire (Odeion).
