Installations & Exhibitions

Embrace Your Inner Brussels Sprouts

group art exhibition - Treehouse NDSM, february 2026

Embrace Your Inner Brussels Sprouts grew from the intersection of my culinary practice, social observation, and artistic research.

Through my daily work at Treehouse NDSM, I use food as a tool for connection. Cooking and serving lunch to the community is not only a functional act; it is a space of observation. Around the table, emotional, social, and identity dynamics naturally unfold. Over time, I began to understand taste as something that goes far beyond balance or technique. Flavor is subjective, relational, and deeply emotional.

From this lived experience, I began a dialogue with artist and co-curator Rika Maja Duevel. Together we reflected on February as a collective mental state — a grey, heavy month often marked by fatigue and the desire for warmth and connection.

The Brussels sprout became our central metaphor. Often underestimated or rejected, it carries a strong personality. If poorly treated, it becomes bitter and unpleasant; when understood and carefully prepared, it reveals complexity and depth. Through this metaphor, we explore three key moments of the human experience:

Underestimation
The feeling of being marginal, misunderstood, or not fully accepted.

Connection
The encounter with others that allows us to maintain our individuality while strengthening a shared experience.

Transformation
The process through which identity evolves, creating space for something unexpected.

This structure unfolds both in the exhibition space and in the dinner-exhibition, where food functions as a narrative extension of the artworks. Each course embodies one phase of the journey: Brussels sprouts in their simplest preparation, a collective composition of roasted vegetables, and finally an unexpected dessert — a Brussels sprout and chocolate cake — symbolizing transformation.

Additional performances and live interventions expanded the exhibition into a participatory environment, where art, food, and audience experience intertwined.

As co-curators, we were interested in creating a space where vulnerability could exist without becoming spectacle. The exhibition invites visitors to reconsider these automatic reactions and to reflect on how social expectations shape self-perception.

Within this context, my work Wound represents a central and deeply personal contribution. The piece consists of a horizontally cut canvas that has been stitched back together. The incision reveals layered collage elements embedded inside the surface. The visible red sutures emphasize repair rather than concealment — the scar becomes part of the structure.

As both artist and co-curator, I contributed to shaping the conceptual direction of the exhibition while situating my practice within a broader dialogue. This project marks an important step in my artistic development, integrating personal research with curatorial responsibility.

Embrace Your Inner Brussels Sprouts creates space for reflection and awareness — inviting us to look again at what we have learned to reject, both in art and in ourselves.

co-curator and artist

Temporarily out of space

group art exhibition - Treehouse NDSM, november 2025

Wardrobe of Lost Seasons is an immersive installation created for the exhibition Temporarily Out of Space, a show that reflects on the moments when we feel disoriented, displaced, or suspended between worlds.
My contribution grows directly from this tension: when the world feels out of place, we begin by rebuilding meaning from what is already around us — from the everyday, the overlooked, the discarded.

This work is the culmination of my Creative Garden project, where for months I collected scraps, found materials on the street, kitchen leftovers, broken pieces, failed experiments, and traces of workshops held with the community. Every element in the wardrobe comes from something that had been forgotten or thrown away.
Nothing here is new. Everything has been transformed.

Inside the wardrobe, floating shapes, paper butterflies, vessels of pigments, sculpted branches and miniature creatures create a dreamlike ecosystem. Many materials carry the memory of their origin: the mushrooms crafted from mandarin peels, the jellyfish made from leftover packaging, the foliage created from coffee filters, the fabrics coloured with food waste. All these fragments come together to form a parallel landscape — a small universe built from what the world no longer values.

The installation invites visitors to consider a simple idea:
renewal does not start in grand gestures, but in the everyday.
It begins at home, in the kitchen, in the street, in the small acts of noticing and transforming. Creativity is not a privilege — it is a way of looking.

My wish for everyone entering the Wardrobe of Lost Seasons is this:
may you always keep the child-like ability to see beyond the surface of things, to imagine new forms inside forgotten objects, to play, to reinvent, to create.
Because creativity is a form of resilience. It is a way of making space when we feel out of space.

As the seasons shift, disappear, or lose their rhythm, this wardrobe becomes a sanctuary for imagination — a place where lost worlds gather, and where new ones quietly begin.

The exhibition features works by Gabriele Bonomi, Jonat Deelstra, Jean Danton Laffert, Helen Anna Flanagan, KIEM & Imke Hullmann, Nesie Junyi Wang, Nawon Koo, Rucha Kulkarni, Philip Ling / Yuk Lin Man and Baroeg Mulder.

artist

Stories of the Evolving Artist

MUSEUM NACHT - TREEHOUSE NDSM , November 2025

We fly with all We are

artist

On November 1st, Treehouse NDSM opened its doors for Museum Night Amsterdam with the group exhibition Stories of an Evolving Artist, beautifully curated by Rika Maja Duevel.  The theme of the night — Transformation — resonated deeply with me, as it’s something I constantly explore in my art and in my personal journey.

For this occasion, I presented my new installation “We Fly With All We Are”. A giant teddy bear sits on a stool, holding the thread of a colourful kite.
At its feet, pieces of fabric carry fragments of songs that once spoke my pain — the confusion, the loneliness, the feeling of not belonging. They tell of a time when I wanted to disappear, when being different, being a “big boy,” made me hide from the world. The kite above tells another story. Its tails are covered with words of courage and transformation — songs that helped me rediscover my voice, my beauty, and my freedom. They speak of learning to love this body, this face, this self exactly as it is.  The bear holds the thread firmly, no longer ashamed, no longer trying to fit in. It stands proud and gentle, grounded yet free, reminding me that we can fly even when we carry the weight of our past — because it is the very wind that lifts us higher.

Being part of Stories of an Evolving Artist was a moving experience.
Each artist shared a piece of their inner transformation, turning the Treehouse halls into a collective reflection on identity, resilience, and growth.
The atmosphere during Museum Night was electric — hundreds of visitors, curious eyes, open hearts, music, light, and a sense of shared humanity that filled the space.

I felt grateful to stand among artists who, like me, use their creativity to tell stories of becoming — of learning to fly, even when carrying the weight of the past.

It was a night of beauty, connection, and truth. A reminder that transformation is not an ending, but a continuous act of courage.

ART SAILS NDSM 

sails amsterdam 2025 - NDSM loads, august 2025

For SAIL Amsterdam 2025, my installation Land Ho! – Waves of Change was presented inside the historic NDSM Loods, as part of the exhibition Art Sails NDSM: Art at the Shipyard, organized by NDSM FUSE together with other partners.

The title recalls the famous sailors’ cry, “Land Ho!”, which I knew as a child through the stories of Christopher Columbus that my mother used to tell me as bedtime tales. These stories fueled my childhood imagination, but as I grew older they also became a source of reflection: the meaning of discovery, its effects on the world, and the need today to turn our gaze toward a new “land” of care, balance, and sustainability.

At the center of the installation sits a chair that transforms into an imaginary vessel, suspended between waves and sail. The homage to my grandfather — whose surname is Colombo and who would have turned 125 on the day of the exhibition’s opening — lives especially in the detail of a small book placed next to the chair: its pages become paper waves, upon which three paper caravels sail toward an olive branch, a symbol of peace and hope.

The waves surrounding the work reflect two contrasting polarities:

• on one side, a dark, dense wave made of waste and fragments of still life, a tangible sign of the consequences of a world driven by consumption and exploitation;

• on the other, a light and transparent wave carrying shades of blue and green, real flowers, and natural elements: an image of possibility, regeneration, and harmony with the environment.

The sail, created with ecoprinting on fabric, bears the traces of nature, as if infused with living memory.

Land Ho! – Waves of Change is not just an artwork to observe, but to share: visitors are invited to leave a message in a bottle for the Earth, symbolically transforming the installation into a place of dialogue, hope, and collective responsibility.

Located in the heart of the NDSM Loods, the work intertwines personal memory, family stories, and childhood imagination with Amsterdam’s maritime history and the urgent ecological issues of today, proposing new routes toward a sustainable future.

artist

Out in the Open 

Pride Art Route 2025 - Treehouse NDSM, July 2025

As part of the group exhibition Out in the Open, I presented four mixed-media works that reflect on queer identity, presence, and emotional architecture.

The three collages — In the Sketch I Exist, The Road Between, and Building Humans — explore personal and collective narratives through layers of recycled materials, handmade paper, and symbolic fragments. Each piece navigates themes of transition, vulnerability, and the invisible labor of self-construction, offering glimpses into stories often left untold.

At the center of the installation, I See You — an interactive mirror piece — invited viewers to engage with their own reflection, framed by fragments of plastic and reclaimed materials. During the opening, the central layer of paper and plastic was ceremonially removed as part of a live performance, symbolizing an act of unveiling and transformation. This gesture underscored the work’s core message: the courage to be seen, and the constant reshaping of one’s identity.

As curator of Out in the Open, I organized the exhibition’s opening event and coordinated a series of performances and artist interactions designed to engage the audience deeply with the themes of the show.

The vernissage began with a collaborative creation of a banner featuring the exhibition’s title, inviting attendees to actively participate in a hands-on creative experiment. This was followed by an intimate musical workshop led by percussionist Yung-Tuan, setting a vibrant and improvisational tone.

Spontaneous performances by pianist Seper Keyhani and dancer Albano Vanessian accompanied Vico Persson’s artwork, enriching the multisensory experience and encouraging dialogue between art forms. Later, artist and performer Guido Hoek offered a poignant musical piece that invited reflection on the theme of toxic masculinity.

During the exhibition walk, artists presented their works and shared personal stories and meanings behind their creations, fostering connection and understanding.

The evening continued with additional performances by Guido Hoek, a captivating drag king show by Mannish Pixel, and concluded with drinks, food, socializing, and music by DJ Silver—creating a dynamic space for celebration, community, and conversation.

CURATOR and artist

bulletin board hexibition 

queerhouse 2024 - Treehouse NDSM, June 2024

As part of the group exhibition Out in the Open, I presented four mixed-media works that reflect on queer identity, presence, and emotional architecture.

The three collages — In the Sketch I Exist, The Road Between, and Building Humans — explore personal and collective narratives through layers of recycled materials, handmade paper, and symbolic fragments. Each piece navigates themes of transition, vulnerability, and the invisible labor of self-construction, offering glimpses into stories often left untold.

At the center of the installation, I See You — an interactive mirror piece — invited viewers to engage with their own reflection, framed by fragments of plastic and reclaimed materials. During the opening, the central layer of paper and plastic was ceremonially removed as part of a live performance, symbolizing an act of unveiling and transformation. This gesture underscored the work’s core message: the courage to be seen, and the constant reshaping of one’s identity.

Artist