We had the good fortune of connecting with Elsemarijn Hijweege and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Elsemarijn, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I grew up in a monastery, a residential community ‘Het Kloosterhuis’ in the Netherlands, where people from all walks of life came together under one roof. I was captivated by the diverse range of individuals I encountered. Mesmerized by the tales that echoed through the halls of the monastery, I was instilled with a deep appreciation for the complexity of the human experience. It was in this environment that I developed a fascination with people’s stories. I found myself drawn to the narratives of those around me, wanting to understand their experiences and perspectives on the world.

Why did you pursue an artistic or creative career?
I didn’t pursue my career actively; it naturally unfolded as I was giving meaning to my life and how I could understand and communicate with the world around me.

Art became my way of expressing the stories I had heard and the ones I had imagined, capturing them in a tangible form that others could see and experience. Initially as short stories and drawings. Later, I sought to bring them off the paper, making them three-dimensional by creating scripts and enacting them, endlessly writing new roles and storylinesAs I grew older, my art became more abstract, aiming to convey only the essence of what I wanted to express, moving towards installation and performance art. While studying philosophy at the University of Amsterdam, I enrolled in a fashion design school where I further developed my approach, fusing various forms of artistic and philosophical expression. I now aim not to create a narrative that guides the reader through my thoughts or an allegory encapsulating a treatise, but to create a vivifying experience in which the visitor can discover and sense an idea.

How do you think about risk? what role has taking risks played in your life/career?
I think my creative process relies on taking risks. I surrender to my intuitive creative process in which I let go of control and allowing my inspiration to guide me. Through this open way of working, transgressing the boundaries of the conceivable, a new language is brought into being.

What value or principle matters most to you? Why?
Meditation, as creating a space which is absent of judgment but goes beyond. It’s about slowing down the pace at which we try to comprehend the world. Priority is given to seeing, and – in seeing – to lose oneself in the act of beholding. In this contemplation, a connection and acknowledgment unfolds, which transcends its preconceived notions.

What’s the end goal? Where do you want to be professionally by the end of your career?
I want the viewer to be able to recognize the other. By constituting realities in my work, the viewer can experience the world in another light or feel recognized in the groundwork that constitutes the way of seeing. Through this, I hope to expand and to merge horizons, but also to show how ‘truth’ depends on how you see it.

What is the most important factor behind your success / the success of your brand?
I’m interested in so many different things -art forms, life forms, sciences – and so I never really was able to choose. Whenever I was at a crossroad to choose one path, I chose both. I never specialized in anything and I think I never will. As I delve into a new project, I totally immerse myself in its world, where the boundaries between different fields blur, giving rise to a new perspective. By walking multiple paths you can find connections and intersections that could bring forward a multidimensional perspective.

Tell us about a book you’ve read and why you like it / what impact it had on you?
It’s not a book but a writer, Jorge Luiz Borges, that I especially admire and who has impacted me. I’m inspired by his way to breathe life into abstract concepts. What captivates me most is his ability to transcend the conventional boundaries of storytelling, transforming narratives into labyrinths of ideas and reflections. I hope I can realize something like that in my work.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I feel like my art is an essay, an approach, a search for. It’s a visual dialogue which will forever be open-ended. When I was young I wanted to create stories that were finished. To create stories that really embodied and encapsulated the idea of what I wanted to say in the way that it enclosed its world; and so to make ‘sense’ of it. I couldn’t bear the fact that I was always left with questions and doubts. Now I see that meaning-giving isn’t something that exists in isolation, rather it exists in relation to the other: in its intertextuality. Furthermore, I came to the realisation that fiction and ‘reality’ are also interrelated, they are intertwined as they are dependent on each other. I found peace in thinking that life is merely symbolic, that it refers to something else. And that only by surrendering to its dream, one can attain reality. And so as my art is an essay, a contemplation, a dreamscape of ‘whirling worlds’.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’d bring them first to Waterlooplein Market, the vintage and antique market. As we walk to Nieuwmarkt, we would go to the Oudemanhuispoort, where they sell vintage books from the ‘closets’ that exist in the hallway. After that, we’d go to Engelbewaarder, a literary cafe where we’d go for a drink and something to eat. We’d visit the Eye Museum, the museum of film in Amsterdam, and after that, go to a movie there. As the sun sets, you have an amazing view of Amsterdam. We would take the tram to Bar Bario, a creative bar, where we would visit the exposition space and enjoy the inspiring music, with drinks and food.

The next day we’d go for a walk around the Gaasperplas, where the atmosphere is so different from the rest of Amsterdam and have a picnic there. We’d visit a museum, FOAM or another. After that, I’d go to the Pijp with the cute market and little shops where we would eat in the evening at Albina and then take the metro to see a theatre performance at Frascati. After the performance, we would have a drink there and then walk back along the Amsterdam canals.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’m really grateful for the people that I work with, particularly Carym Zidam. Together we create these visuals. His ability to capture the imagery of an idea inspires me very much. The belief and support of my friends, who’ve taken on roles as models and performers is very special to me. I think this has added so much depth and authenticity to the works. I’m so thankful to be able to create something together with a team that immerses themselves in so sincerely and with so much passion for the project.

Instagram: eliso.y

Image Credits
[personal picture] BTS. Dream labyrinth (eliso x ke.nane). Mask design. Photographer: Mariia Gadjieva Ibra. Model: Joseph Ayinla. [1] apocryphal gospels Photographer: Carym Zidan. Model: Lotte Teunissen. Elsemarijn Hijweege. Concept, set & fashion design: Elsemarijn Hijweege [2] heterotopia Photographer: Carym Zidan. Model: Lotte Teunissen. fashion design: Elsemarijn Hijweege [3] heterotopia Photographer: Carym Zidan. Model: Lotte Teunissen. Fashion design: Melanie van Rijn and Elsemarijn Hijweege. Concept & set design: Elsemarijn Hijweege [4] den mi wesu / for Michael Wanga. photographer: Lowie Performer: Michael Wanga. Costume design: Elsemarijn Hijweege [5] dream labyrinth / eliso x ke.nane Fashion design: Kesly Haag, Elsemarijn Hij- weege. Models: Joseph Ayinla, Kristof West, Priscilla Foxsta, Moses, Jade Elkerbout. Photography: Carym Zidan, Mariia Gadjieva Ibra. Concept & design: Elsemarijn Hijweege [6] dream labyrinth / eliso x ke.nane Fashion design: Kesly Haag, Elsemarijn Hij- weege. Models: Joseph Ayinla, Kristof West, Priscilla Foxsta, Moses, Jade Elkerbout. Photography: Carym Zidan, Mariia Gadjieva Ibra. Concept & design: Elsemarijn Hijweege [7] through spaceless spaces Dancers: Lotte Teunissen, Jenny Hoenselaar, Sandra Roberts, Céline Kodjo. Storyteller: Caleb Macauley. Musicians: Daan Guelen, Lieke Akkermans. Choreographer: Maxi Hill. Photography and videograpers: Carym Zidan, Trevor Schenkers, Elke Bevers. Lantern figures: Berend Hoge, Yannick van den Ende. Text: Elsemarijn Hijweege. Fashion design: Elsemarijn Hijweege. Special thanks to : Julius Stahlie, Basak Layic, Karl Giesriegl, Rederij Lampedusa, Amsterdam Fringe Festival. Created and directed by Elsemarijn Hijweege [8] through spaceless spaces Dancers: Lotte Teunissen, Jenny Hoenselaar, Sandra Roberts, Céline Kodjo. Storyteller: Caleb Macauley. Musicians: Daan Guelen, Lieke Akkermans. Choreographer: Maxi Hill. Photography and videograpers: Carym Zidan, Trevor Schenkers, Elke Bevers. Lantern figures: Berend Hoge, Yannick van den Ende. Text: Elsemarijn Hijweege. Fashion design: Elsemarijn Hijweege. Special thanks to : Julius Stahlie, Basak Layic, Karl Giesriegl, Rederij Lampedusa, Amsterdam Fringe Festival. Created and directed by Elsemarijn Hijweege

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