Monique de Ruiter
It started with one. I rescued two pieces of cardboard from a wine box; a bottle divider. I liked the look of it and took it to my studio. Folding it into a different shapes, I played around with it and formed it into a wall object. All cardboard bottle dividers I collected since have slightly different shapes and are made of different types of cardboard. They all have similar sizes, about 21 x 20 cm. Acrylic paint and lino print. € 65 each
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In my younger years I was fascinated by the supermodels of the era. My favorites; Rene Russo, Patti Hansen, Linda Evangelista. I admired them in the fashion magazines that my mother used to read (Marie Claire, Vogue, Harper’s Bazar). I wasn’t all that interested in what these models wore, it was the fabulous photography that really got me. I found the life they led even more exciting. Patti married Keith Richards, Rene was discovered at a Rolling Stones concert, and Linda wouldn’t get out of bed for less than $10,000 a day. They were outspoken characters.
For this series of portraits ‘CONTORTION’ I leafed through today’s fashion magazines and searched online for images of the catwalk. I saw stern heads, strong looks, faces without emotion. Such a contrast with how I remembered my idols from back then.
While painting these models of today an unintentional vulnerability in their facial expression came to surface. It surprised me.
I am the bluebum gorgle,
My father was a porgle,
My mother was a poruleerd –
That’s why their kids all turned out weird
Rabeard! Rabeard! Rabeard!
-Cees Buddingh
Translated by David Colmer
HOW IT STARTED:
I found two discarded plywood shelves from our fuse cupboard and saved them from the trash.
They have funny shapes as they had to fit around all kinds of pipes. After renovating our house they didn’t fit anymore. The ideal surface for painting! I started sketching abstract shapes, but soon these alien-like animal figures came out. The shape of the shelves somehow forced me into that direction. After finishing the painted shelves I found the urge to create more of these abstract animal-like figures. Immediately the above first stanza of a poem came to mind. A Dutch classic and much loved by my children when they were young. Author C. Buddingh described about 73 ‘gorgles’ in his poems. The very first about the ‘Blauwbilgorgel’, written in 1943
The common thread in my work is my use of color in combination with sturdy shapes. I usually start working in subdued tones, but vivid colors always emerge. A next project might prove differently.
A tribute to my mother, who was a great cook and who loved to throw dinner parties. She had piles and piles of plates and bowls, cupboards full of dishes. Where did it all go?
These bowls are made from sugercane pulp. I found them at home , hidden in a forgotten drawer. I decided to decorate them, in loving memory of my mother. Each piece is unique.
For a long period of the 20th century , the island of Java (Indonesia) was the second largest sugar producer in the world. My mother was born on Java in 1937.
