Looking back on 2014

In 2014, I started a whole new series: furniture. More specifically: pieces of furniture that you see everywhere, in people's homes, in home decor magazines, and at trade fair stands, for example. Ikea has a number of very distinctive products, such as the Bekväm wooden stool and the PS locker cabinet. In addition to Ikea's mass-produced products, there are also designer furniture pieces that you can't ignore, such as Piet Hein Eek's scrap wood cabinet and the Egg chair, a design by Arne Jacobsen from the 1950s. Both are beautiful. But where does something cease to be unique or special? And where does it begin? Is something still special if you see it everywhere? Or does that make it special? Do you see it everywhere because it is special? Does it matter?

I find these questions interesting. At that time, my favorite section in the Saturday edition of the NRC newspaper was Binnenkijken (Inside Look). Every week, Thijs Wolzak photographed a special interior and always asked the residents two questions: “What would you take with you in case of fire?” and “Is it from Ikea?”

The second question, “Is it from Ikea?” implies a certain judgment. The answers do too, for that matter. Some responded with a resolute ‘Nothing’. If there was anything in the house, it often turned out to be something practical, such as a mattress, a dishwashing brush, or napkins.

As in previous work, this series is about uniformity, originality, and things that are or seem universal.

1.        Bekväm 3, oil on panel, 21 x 32 cm, 2014

2.        Kast Ps Blauw, oil on panel,, 24 x 39 cm, 2014

3.        Klippan, mixed media on panel,, 10,5 x 15 cm, 2014

4.        De kast, oil on panel,, 24 x 18 cm, 2014

5.        Red, Yellow and Blue, oil on panel, 27,5 x 61 cm, 2014