Tours 
The first solo exhibition by autonomous visual artist Iris van den Bersselaar opens on 21 November. With paintings, embroideries and a print, she brings forgotten objects back to life – often with a poetic and humorous eye.
Who are you?
‘My name is Iris van den Bersselaar, 27 years old and living in Breda. In 2019, I graduated from art academy St. Joost in Illustration and Animation. Besides my autonomous practice, I am part of artist collective Zut Mon Sac.
As an autonomous visual artist, I draw inspiration from the things I see around me. Weird objects on the street, for example. Friends sometimes send me a picture of a cup with mould, because they know I find that interesting. I am always looking for the beauty in something that is usually considered ugly.’
How do you approach your work?
‘I take pictures of everything I find interesting. When I start sketching, I make a kind of composition in my head of the objects or situations I have seen. I try to combine something realistic with something alienated. That way it becomes more beautiful, ugly or sometimes even bizarre. What is combined with each other is formed very intuitively.
I like people to be confused by what they see. Sometimes I try to come up with the most bizarre thing. Just letting it happen often results in weird compositions. But often I also add something beautiful, like a flower. I don’t work in a specific way. If I don’t feel it, I don’t feel it.’
Mural at Ploegendienst Festival | Photo by Rob Lipsius
Can you share more about your exhibition ‘Vergeten Voorwerpen’?
‘Besides my work as an artist, I also work in home care. This allows me, as a stranger, to get a glimpse into the lives of others. I visit places where things roam and clutter lives. The exhibition is based on images of spaces and places I have stored in my mind. For me, the decay of these objects symbolises the decay of ideas, thoughts and feelings. By bringing them back to life, I give them a new value.’
What can we expect from your exhibition?
‘A cabinet of curiosities, a kind of collected all together situation. For example, there is a work with a washbasin shelf and a dead bird. That belongs together, I feel. But of course, what is beautiful for me may be experienced differently by others.’
It’s your first solo exhibition, how is that?
‘Very nice. It feels very good to be given this confidence and freedom as an artist. I’m looking forward to seeing the whole thing together at the Gallery.”
The exhibition is one of the elements of the Blind Walls Talent Call. How are you experiencing it so far?
‘Good! It has been a lot of new impressions, insights and challenges. I had never made a large mural before. Because I always work so intuitively, it was quite difficult to ‘plan’ the complete design for the assignment at Ploegendienst Festival. Fortunately, I received great tips from my coach Marloes de Kiewit and am also learning a lot from the other participants.”
Iris van den Bersselaar’s exhibition ‘Vergeten Voorwerpen’ is on display at the Blind Walls Gallery Gallery from 21 November to 27 December. You can drop in every Thursday afternoon, for visits on other days please an appointment.
Photo by Rob Lipsius