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31 January2025

BKS—Club: Vera Meulendijks

In conversation with Vera Meulendijks


"Letting go of control and embracing the unknown can take you to places you never imagined.

The concept of letting go and embracing the unknown is a real challenge for many people. One of them is the artist Vera Meulendijks, whose work explores extreme boundaries to reconnect with her primal instincts and find balance between profound emotions. In her new installation "Nothing Rises for Nothing (But the Sun Does)" for BKS—Club, she creates an experience where the boundaries between nature and artificiality dissolve.

You have created a very inspiring work of art for BKS—Club X Willem Twee. Could you tell us more about it and share the inspiration behind it?

Absolutely! It’s an installation consisting of multiple works, all inspired by the sun. When we started discussing the event, which takes place in February, my mind immediately went to winter—how it can be freezing cold, yet the sun still brings these incredible colors. Since my work is very colorful, that connection felt natural.

From there, I began thinking about wind directions, which have always been a personal frustration for me—I’m just really bad at it, and I hate that. That made me reflect on how disconnected we’ve become from our primal instincts. I have a deep love for nature, so I wanted to create an ode to it. That’s where the idea started, and over time, it evolved into a kind of modern oasis, with entrances and exits. Oh, and I made ceramic anuses.

We can’t wait to see it! You mentioned that one of your main concerns is how modern society has become disconnected from nature and our primal instincts.

Yes, we are still connected in some ways, but it’s no longer rooted in us. For example, we no longer intuitively know where north is, nor can we tell the time just by looking at the position of the sun. At least, I can’t. We invented clocks and time, we have appointments, and we always need to be somewhere. That’s why the center of my installation is a sundial (Zonnewijzer in Dutch), but with a twist. It’s logical for someone to perceive the sun as turning around us because that’s our perspective, but it’s also a metaphor for geocentrism—the old theory that everything in the universe revolves around us, reinforcing a sense of power and self-importance.

You use very vibrant colors in your artwork. Is there a specific reason behind this choice?

Yes, I think the combination of vibrant colors and minimalistic shapes allows me to create something that steps outside of the day-to-day life. We are surrounded by colors all the time, but we become so used to them that we stop noticing them. However, when you place certain colors together, you create a sense of friction, and that’s a big part of my research. I also create many black-and-white artworks.

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I noticed this contradiction in your work—some pieces are colorful, while others are in black and white. Could you explain the philosophy behind that?

Coincidentally, I was talking about this yesterday. When I dedicate myself to something, I am fully committed, but when I let go, I truly let go. That’s just how my mind works. The in-between, the grey area, is not a big part of my life. I also love the concept of contrast, and I use it a lot in my work—exploring the balance between perfection and imperfection. Of course, this binary way of thinking can sometimes be a drawback, but I prefer to focus on the positive aspects, like how it allows me to bring very different worlds together.

How do you balance contradictions, such as analog imperfection and digital precision, or randomness and control?

The tension between perfection and imperfection is a way of dealing with the idea of both wanting control and accepting that you can’t always have it. I think many people can relate to that. I love imperfections—both in the visual world and in art—because that’s where beauty emerges. I like to play with that tension.

I am a perfectionist myself, so accepting flaws and seeing them as beautiful is a real (and playful) challenge. The balance between analog and digital is an ongoing process for me. For example, I’m currently working with a 3D printer, and I’m as fascinated by it as a child would be. I love the industrial and esthetic aspect of it, but at the same time, I deeply enjoy crafting by hand. I also run a small publishing company where we create books entirely by hand. That’s another example of the grey area—both the analog and digital worlds coexist. The same goes for my installation: it contains many artificial elements, but also strongly references to nature.

Let’s talk about music! Do you enjoy listening to music while working, and do you have a favorite artist or genre?

Good question! If I’m feeling stressed and busy, I need comfort music, so I play my favorite songs. But when I have more headspace, I really enjoy listening to radio shows because they introduce an element of surprise. As for artists, I listen to a lot of Talking Heads, New Order, Amyl and the Sniffers, and my friends’ band, Andy and the Antichrist—they’re also living in Tilburg! Lately, I've had Thin Lizzy on repeat again, my favorite band, a sort of repetition of addiction.

Movement, imperfection, and storytelling seem to be key elements in your work. What other elements do you find important in life?

I think the philosophy of “not always being in control” and “not letting fear take over” is very important to me.

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I came across your website, and I love your philosophy about glass—how you describe it as an unfixed material and how you embrace the unknown. Is this a philosophy you apply in your own life? What made you start thinking this way? Why do you think people are afraid to step outside the norm?

That’s mostly because I am exactly like that—I fear the unknown. My brain works that way.

Since I was a child, I’ve had moments of zoning out and feeling somewhat alienated. At art school, I started exploring that concept: what does it mean to recognize something? For example, when we see a fence, we immediately identify it as a fence—we stop perceiving it aesthetically or wondering about it. I was afraid that as I grew older, I would lose that curiosity, that desire to discover things.

The idea of knowing everything felt like a dead end to me. But in reality, there’s so much we don’t know—even about the universe. My mind is blown when I learn about these things. When I watch a video about quantum physics or black holes, I think, What are we doing here? We know nothing!

At the same time, I’m completely fascinated by science. A good example of this is when I took apart an old TV. I’m so used to my computer, I know how to use it, but do I really understand how it works? It's incredible how all these colors and images appear so perfectly. When it comes to the software and hardware, though, I haven’t got a clue. It’s like magic to me. Something with ones and zeros... right?

Why do you think people are so afraid of stepping outside the norm?

That’s a question I ask myself every day. With everything happening in the world right now, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed or even depressed. It’s important to focus on the good, but that can be difficult. I think people are afraid of intense emotions, so they try to suppress or control them. They stay within the safety of their comfort zone. Personally, I’m glad that I can feel deeply, but it can also be exhausting.

Thank you so much, Vera! I really enjoyed our conversation, and we can’t wait to see you and your work live on Saturday at Willem Twee!

Likewise! I can’t wait to see you all.

You can see Vera Meulendijks installation at BKS—Club → Find out more.
Interview by Eirini Kleitsika

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