Bezweefd

Bezweefd was born during a retreat organised by the ecstatic dance community Bezweefd. On the first morning, I was sitting in the sun with a sketchbook on my lap. At that point in my life, many things felt stuck. Out of that feeling of pressure, uncertainty and searching, a small sketch emerged that immediately captured my attention. For the first time, I was not only seeing a drawing; I was seeing an entire world unfold before me.

What began as a quick sketch grew into a journey spanning almost ten months and approximately seventy-five hours of drawing. The artwork travelled with me across the Netherlands and even to Thailand. It was worked on, set aside, and returned to again and again. At times, I had to step away because the patterns literally began to move before my eyes.

The world of Bezweefd is built from distorted checkerboard patterns that fold, twist and grow through one another. These patterns provide structure and stability, yet at the same time they lose their logic. What once appeared to be an orderly grid slowly transforms into a landscape without a clear top or bottom. The forms move through the image like roots, searching for space, light and a new direction.

Whenever I find myself stuck in my artistic practice, I often return to checkerboard patterns. They offer a sense of certainty and control. In Bezweefd, they form the foundation of a larger story. Between the patterns, root-like structures push their way through the composition. To me, they symbolise the emergence of new ideas, new insights, and the ability to begin again when everything appears to be standing still.

Although the drawing is almost entirely rendered in graphite, a small number of coloured forms appear throughout the composition. Colour is something I use sparingly. When it appears, it carries meaning. These forms are not objects to me, but moments. Small eruptions of life within a world of black and white. They are like flowers growing in a landscape of doubt, or sunlight unexpectedly breaking through a heavy layer of clouds.

Bezweefd exists somewhere between order and chaos. The checkerboard patterns represent structure, while their distortion introduces movement and unpredictability. The result is an image without a fixed point of rest. The eye continues to wander, as if travelling through a portal between different states of awareness.

While creating this work, several personal events slowly found their place within me. It felt as though old chapters could finally be closed, allowing new roots to take hold. Because of this, Bezweefd is more than a drawing. It is a transition. A reflection on growth, transformation, and the search for light while still standing in the shadow.

It is not nature.
It is not a machine.
It is not an organism.

And yet, it lives.

Namasté 🫶