Title: A little bit like the soul
Artist: Sijben Rosa
Residency: 8 February - 1 July 2023
Performative film premiere A little bit like the soul:
Saturday, 20 May, 15:00 - 19:00
(make a reservation)
15:00 Doors open
16:00 Cinema:performative film premiere
Introduction by Axel Boomgaars, city counsel member (culture) of Hoorn.
16:30 Café: Reflection on the movie by Simon van der Weele and Q & A with the artist
17:00 Drinks and soup
*During the event, the film is on view continuously until 19:00 and during our regular opening hours until 30 June.
Queer Clay Club workshop series:
Friday, 16 June, 17:00-19:00 - Eten met je ogen
Friday, 23 June, 17:00-19:00 - Sculpturen van begeerte
Friday, 30 June, 17:00-19:00 - Klei connecties
Participants are welcome to stay for a collective meal after the workshops (until 18:00).
Mini exhibition Queer Clay Sculptures
Adult Nation sex shop, Hoorn
Wednesday 5 July - Wednesday 18 July 2023
Sculptor, film and performance maker Sijben Rosa grew up in Hoorn and wonders which aspects in this specific context contributed to a delay of their coming to terms with their own queerness*. A long term-residency at HMK allows them to investigate this question further through their artistic practice.
For the project A little bit like the soul, Sijben investigates the relationship between objects and people, where the social, political and aesthetic status of the objects make us aware of our own position in society. Through the way we interact with, interpret and give meaning to an object, the object can turn into a catalyst for human interaction and dialogue. Sijben’s residency will consist of the Queen Clay Club workshop series, a mini exhibition with the result of the participants at the sex-shop around the corner, and the performative premiering of Sijben’s film A little bit like the soul.
A little bit like the soul
In their new film/performance A little bit like the Soul, Sijben rethinks the hetronormative social norms surrounding care, by means of a sculpture crafted by them. De film A little bit like the soul emerges from a sculptural performance in which four people who identify as queer live together for one week, together with a large object Sijben has crafted. The film raises questions about care, touch, relationships, and gender and will premiere on 20 May in HMK's cinema. There will be a conversation with the artist afterwards and a performative intervention taking place during the entire event.
Queer Clay Club
Throughout the residency period, a Queer Clay Club organised at HMK will allow the audience to join Sijben in this exploration. The workshop series will take you along in Sijben’s interest for material kinship. This concept is not just about wishing 'matter' could be something we hold on to like friends, lovers or family, but also about material coming alive through social encounters, by being passed between lives and hands. Participants will, together with Sijben, be creating objects that elude practical function and expectations of efficiency. They'll be exploring how material ambiguity may open up alternative ways of relating to our surroundings and, in turn, foster greater social connection. The three Queer Clay Club workshops are free and open to anyone who identifies as queer or ally.
Workshops: Queer Clay Club
Friday, 16 June, 17:00-19:00 - Eten met je ogen
How do you make your work look as edible and tasty as possible without claying existing food? Juicy, drippy, spongy or crunchy, how do you actually tell? We look for appetising shapes in clay and then we paint the wet clay with colours which make our mouths water.
Friday, 23 June, 17:00-19:00 - Sculpturen van begeerte
We will clay objects that appear to be sex toys but actually are not: how can you make your sculpture look as sexy as possible, without depicting existing erotic articles or body parts? Through serious form research and the abstractions Sijben often uses in their own work, we look for what makes an object irresistible. We also pay a visit to sex shop Adult Nation.
Fridayy, 30 June, 17:00-19:00 - Klei connecties
After gaining experience with the principles and techniques Sijben uses in their work during the previous workshops, this week they will support you in applying them to a object of your own choice. What forms are you interested in abstracting? What kind of relationships to people do they create? How does your work acquire an appeal that entices touch and affection?
The minimum age to join the workshops is 16+ and the language of the workshops is Dutch. Participants are welcome to stay for a collective meal after the workshops (until 20:00). There are a limited number of places available. For reservations and more information contact info@hotelmariakapel.nl.
Work by one of the participants of earlier workshops organised by Sijben at Stichting Buitenplaats.
Listen to the podcast (mostly in Dutch).
A little bit like the soul: the intersection of art and life
A podcast created by Yinzk, about the work of artist Sijben Rosa, commissioned by Hotel Maria Kapel in Hoorn. Largely Dutch spoken, 10% English spoken.
Sculptor, film and performance-maker Sijben Rosa grew up in Hoorn and wonders what aspects in this particular context contributed to a delay in discovering their own queerness. A fellowship residency at Hotel Maria Kapel allows Sijben to further explore this question from the perspective of their artistic practice. This podcast, made during Sijben's residency by Yinzk, brings together the different parts of Sijben's work and background: a sculpture, made at an earlier date, the film A little bit like the soul, which recently premiered at HMK, the performance that took place during that premiere and the Queer Clay Club they organised alongside. The project is linked to notions of care, non-conformism and growing up in Hoorn through a conversation between philosopher Simon van der Weele and Sijben, and a conversation between Wicce Pennekamp and Yara Buttner. Post-editing has been done by Rory Hasell-Dennett.
Drawing: Yara Buttner
Click image (video): A little bit like the soul, a conversation between Sijben Rosa and Simon(e) van Saarloos
Sijben Rosa (they/them) grew up in Hoorn. Sijben makes objects and choreographs the situation around them using performative means. These objects seem to have a purpose, yet their exact practical functionality remains unknown. This ambiguity creates an oasis within the efficiency of everyday life. The objects do not claim a purpose, they claim space for nothing. And in doing so, they actually create space – for thinking, speaking, for simply existing without the need for purpose, a vacuum that allows something new to emerge.
Sijben Rosa (1988, Alkmaar, NL) graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in 2012. Since then they have done several residencies, in Basel (CH), Mönchengladbach (DE), Dro (IT) and Leeuwarden (NL). Their work has been exhibited in The Netherlands and abroad, amongst others at Biquini Wax Mexico City, Kunstverein Düsseldorf, Museum van Loon Amsterdam, KW Berlin, Salt Istanbul, CAB Brussels, De Appel Amsterdam, SculptureCenter New York City. Sijben Rosa currently lives and works in Amsterdamand teaches at various art academies in the Netherlands.
*Queerness is used as a collective term for people who are sexuality- or gender-diverse. Nevertheless, the term can also be understood more broadly. Thus, all customs, beliefs and situations that deviate from the norm can be seen as queer.
This project has been made possible with help of Mondriaanfonds, Gemeente Hoorn and Stichting Doen / Vriendenloterij Fonds.
Special thanks to: Jerrol Lashley (Stichting Netwerk Hoorn), Ryanne Wiener (OSG Havo), Adult Nation Hoorn.