The work of Lisette de Greeuw (1990) is ensconced in and intertwined with language. She uses transformation as a method and translation as a material. She’s developed a lexicon based on embroidery patterns with markings referring to colours in order to create a picture. This puts the viewer at a distance, while the drawings also serve as a “tool allowing access to the actual work”. The repetition of basic steps introduces errors to the system. These errors are key, as they lay the foundation for new shapes.
De Greeuw: “The work for St. Catharinadal builds on a piece I created prior. It’s an enlarging of one of my schematics, with markings referring to colours. The only way I’ve made this before has been by drawing and painting it on existing floors.
For the h3h biennial, clay is my foundation. I’ve begun looking into ways to recreate the terracotta tiles making up the St. Catharinadal floor, using a variety of types of clay, a range of firing temperatures, and various kinds of terra sigillata. This enables me to compose a palette of colours that matches the existing tiles while still being a little bit different in its own way. I’m also working on glazing tests to transfer a drawing onto the tiles. Making the moulds, filling them with clay, evening the surface, drying, removing the plaster, lather, rinse, repeat. Some tiles are broken, some warped, some I’ll need for further testing, and some might break along the way… The rest of this drawing will eventually be placed on the existing floor.
I’ll also be creating another piece for the upcoming biennial, which will be exhibited in the monastery garden. The first time we visited this site was a sunny day in spring. One thing that immediately stood out was the light hitting the ground through the canopy of the large tree. My aim is for the work I’m creating for this site to embody the way the light passes through the tree. That way, you’ll be able to view it even when it isn’t visible.”
