You’ve designed fashion collections, made art and taken photos. What’s the appeal of working primarily in a book format?
I’m inspired wherever I go. It’s a gift, but also there’s too much inspiration in the world. I have to make borders, and a book is a very good border. I have a theme and I have to work to that.
You quit art college in Amsterdam to pursue a career in fashion and trend forecasting. Why?
I grew up in a small village and I was bored. I was always searching for what was in the outside world that might fulfill me. I went to college in Amsterdam, but then decided to quit when I couldn’t take up the internship I wanted. I went to Paris instead. I was very stubborn. Now, I’m an autodidact and love learning. I make whatever I make and I find my own way to make it.
You were so eager to get started in life, but now you make work about celebrating aging and imperfections. Are you surprised you’ve had this second start?
Fifteen years ago I was in this in-between time. I had done all these things already— I’d built a set of brands—and I went to see an astrologer. He said, “You’re a late bloomer” and I said, “No, how come? I did all these things already. I’m very early!” He said, “No, this isn’t the thing you’re supposed to do.” I thought “Wow! I get another chance.” But it needed to happen when it did. I could say, “Oh, what time I’ve lost,” but it’s not true.
How are you translating Omnipresent | Beyond Borders into a physical exhibition for The Kinfolk Gallery?
At the exhibition, there will be canvases made of the materials that appear in the book. I collected all these sand samples and pigment samples while traveling and made canvases from them, always using the material of the earth. It’s my inspiration.
Omnipresent | Beyond Borders is at The Kinfolk Gallery from September 26 to October 11.
