My passion for postcards
As a kid, I often joined my mum when she visited her best friend. Her friend had no kids, no toys and an awful lot of precious and fragile things in her house. Sliding around on the waxed wooden floors, but that was frowned upon by the adults. I found my little sanctuary in the laundry and storage room. It had an old comfy chair and boxes filled to the brim with postcards. I remember sorting through all the cards, back to front and front to back.
My passion for postcards has stuck around until this day. From time to time, I go hunting for new old postcards, preferably old greeting cards. I use them as a base or inspiration for my collages and drawings.
Greetings from my childhood
Greetings from my childhood is a 3D collage. I made this collage for the ‘Art in a Box’-project from the Frauen Museum Wiesbaden.
The premise is simple: I dove into my old postcard collection. I also dusted off my old painters’ box I had to beg my mother for so long to get it. I transposed the divided format of the old postcards to the internal division of the painters’ box.
Pictured on the left is an old greeting card and to the right a top view from my box.
The content comes from my most visceral childhood memories:
Sloeber, the cat that listened to all my worries, fought until he had holes in his ears and let me pet him for ever and ever.
Car sickness, carousel sickness, sea sickness… Every form of motion was an opportunity for my stomach to turn itself upside down. After a while even the smell of my little puke bucket was enough to make me throw up.
Evil leprechauns, they had taken up residence under my bed. Every night they came marching, in large numbers, chanting loudly: “We’re going to eat you”. Leaving me screaming.
Swimming, if there was water, I was in it. Seas, swimming pools, rivers, …
Greeting cards from days past from: Diano Marina, Roma, Alassio, Alicante, Han, Luxembourg.
Dimensions: 280 x 230 x 85 mm.
Year: 2022
De kathedraal van Reims
Reims Cathedral is a series of 4 collages starting from 1 postcard. I made 4 variations, using, amongst others, old class notes from my mother who used to be a teacher. She passed away in 1986 and strangely most of the documents she left behind are lesson preparations.
Afmetingen: 297 x 210 mm (4 times)
Year: 2022
Paris - Firenze
Paris - Firenze is an ode to the greeting cards we used to send when we went on holiday. The only sign of life, arriving long after we had returned home.
Dimensions: 297 x 210 mm (twice)
Year: 2022
Sibylle
Die Hellespontische Sibylle von der Südseite des Chorgestühls (Münster).
Dimensions: 105 x 145 mm (2 keer)
Year: 2020
Genie
Dimensions: 105 x 145 mm
Year: 2020
Swimming pool
Collagedrawing
Dimensions: 175 x 115 mm
Year: 2019
Madonna with child
Postcard drawing diptych
Dimensions 150 x 105 mm (twice)
