In brief

What better time than winter recess to do some maintenance, scrape the paint from a door, build that closet you needed since so long or give your long neglected blog some well deserved attention...

A short update:

Utrecht Manifest No. 4, Biennal for Social Design was rounded off before the summer. My project Werklandschap Kruist ICI is archived here.

I led a three month art education research with 23 teenagers last fall, entitled t.z.t (tijdelijk zonder titel, temporarily untitled) – you can get a feel of our  (mis)adventures on the project blog.

I've also started teaching at the Studio for Immediate Spaces / Sandberg Institute (click on Graduation Studio to see some first images)– the first talk with my graduation class took on the form of an exhibition at the 2012 Kunstvlaai. In February we'll go to Wongema for a remote graduation meditation...

The project Hunnie, in which I collaborate with Henriëtte Waal, kicked off last November – Hunnie (local jargon for 'them') designs hybrid experiences of nature and culture, recreation and maintenance. Our seasonal adventures bring together local guides, existing and new caretakers as well as experts in various fields (hunting, fake meat, geology, flora, art, sociology, living willow architecture....). After one year, the knowledge gathered through the adventures will be edited into a short docu-fiction, in an effort to relay and perpetuate the cultural myths that Hunnie members have and will produce. Each adventure also generates products which will furnish the shelter we will realize for this area. Follow Hunnie on facebook: upcoming adventures include Hunnie Hunting and Hunnie Willow Works.

I will start a personal research on " the street as a set" in the context of the Schilderwijk (The Hague) next winter at Design Research Station DRS22, together with Krijn Christiaansen, Cathelijne Montens and Claudia Linders as well as students from the KABK. Soon to be seen here: the footage of a first day of experiments in public space which took place two weeks ago.

And last but not least Field Essays, Issue One will be released next January –  this publication juxtaposes the work of designer Jonathan Muecke (USA) and photographer Bas Princen (NL). With his photographs, Princen frames built and un-built landscapes, revealing their mind-blowing oddities. On the other hand, the core motive of Muecke’s design practice is “to retain potential in an object”. Muecke’s bold artifacts function as probes that venture into the realms of our perception – attempting to detect its mechanisms. Both create visual propositions that “make room” – thereby making room for another reading of the world. Check my publisher Onomatopee for updates.