Hoofdkantoor Prinsengracht 400/ 1016 JB / Amsterdam
info@academieartemis.nl/ 020 – 689 51 00
For ages, I’ve been fascinated by beautiful visual moments, and I’m very pleased to have been able to record them in my book The Silver Linings.
The inception of my concept was at the beginning of the corona crisis. At one moment, a metaphorical switch was flipped, and we’ve had to overhaul our entire lives. This was a major change for creative students as well. In the “before times”, they used to be able to go to museums for inspiration, but now, they’re stuck at home. So they’re left with one big problem: where do they go to get inspired? This was an issue I was struggling with, until I was introduced to the philosophical school of Everyday Aesthetics. They believe that beauty isn’t just found fine art, but that there’s beauty and inspiration in the mundanest of activities. This philosophy was the solution to our problem. Is there anything more magnificent than drawing inspiration from everyday activities?
With the philosophy of Everyday Aesthetics in the back of my mind, I’ve started photographing my daily routines. I’ve analysed my photographs using both this philosophy and contemporary art history theory, and collected them in a coffee table book titled The Silver Linings. The aim is to show the people who read it a different perspective. The book was invented for creative students who are stuck in their rooms for days on end. When they read it, they’ll see that even a regular day can be filled with moments of inspiration. That’s also the reason why I’ve collaborated with The School of Life on this project. The School of Life strongly believes that for as much as we learn at school, a lot of the subjects that actually affect your quality of life are never taught. And this problem is really no different. Students are sorely lacking in inspiration because they spend their days cooped up in their rooms. This will help them put a positive spin on things – a lesson not many schools will teach you.