Why is a Dutch traditional birthday so awkward and fun at the same time?

The Dutch like to celebrate a birthday in a circle. Sometimes it is in the garden, but the living room will also do. In the middle: a table with snacks. It lasts from coffee time with some cake into the evening with a drink and crisps in a bowl. Dinner is not included. You pick your seat and after some hours that seat becomes your spot, your own safe corner.

I love to be there and at the same time I feel out of place. This duality triggers me. I researched this contradictory feeling.

I captured that fine line of duality between happy and unhappiness with my camera. I discovered it’s all around me in my daily life. In my eyes there is no good or bad, just a new experience. For This Art Fair, I transform my results into pictures, a social experience and mini 3D work.

I invite you to take a seat in one of the plastic white chairs and see the small things around us that turn life (un)intentionally into a party.