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RESPROUT (In de sporen van mijn oma)  / 2025 – 2026


Resprout is based upon and inspired by the diary of a [my] grandmother, written and illustrated for the artist [me]. The diary was found in an old closet after she passed away in December 2021, shortly after the birth of my second daughter, Rosalia. I said farewell to my only living grandmother while nursing my baby and looking at the picture of her lookalike, baby boy Dickie, who passed away as a young infant. My mother was only one year old when her mother lost and grieved over her little brother.
All this is so entangled that I started to approach my grandmother’s diary with a similar sensitivity and curiosity as onedoes when birthing a new life – a magical event full of wonder, where life and death seem rather like close friends instead of enemies.

I wanted to create a project in which the stories of my grandma emerged in a new jacket, like a poetic and contemporary photographic journey through generations, an ode to life in 2026. I also wanted to give myself room to experiment with new techniques for my art practice , meaning I’ve painted and drawn directly upon photocopies of archive material.
I co-created this project with channeled energies. Thanks to this support, I could continue the project on a small scale despite a rejection letter from the Mondriaan Fund and the breakup with my ex-boyfriend and the father of my children, which left me alone with three girls due to his PTSD among others, which is also related. Thank you for understanding that I cannot share more information here.

In my artworks I’ve explored intergenerational ties throughout time, the connection to the land of the ancestors, along with themes of vulnerability, transition and courage. The diary of my grandmother shares impressive stories of World War II, life on the land, and family ties to Jewish resistance, for which she had to sacrifice safety and freedom of her youth. It was my aim to set her free after all, and my inner voice which reflects the tone of (grand)parents as well. Meaning I’ve photographed in Ter Aar and channeled messages of deeper wisdom under ‘her’ tree, painted on photonegatives (in an abstract way) and made photo collages by hand.

Resprout, by Mathilde Jansen, and Aartje Lok-van Vliet (†) , ter Aar