Roeland Rooijakkers (Utrecht, 1999) recently graduated his Bachelor Degree in Art & Research at St. Joost School of Art & Design in Breda (NL).

Artist Statement:

The processes that take place in nature intrigue Roeland Rooijakkers. They teach him to look at things differently. They are processes of a life that is independent. Autonomous and free, nature follows its own rhythm. Its own pace. Its own ways of being.

Rooijakkers is a forager. Led by the seasonal tides, he works exclusively with materials that he can collect in the natural environment. Think of rocks, sand, clay, grass, leaves, flowers, branches and fungi. Like an alchemist, he transmutes these ancient materials into new forms and installations. His works have a meditative character and reflect the tranquillity Rooijakkers experiences when he explores the world's landscapes.

Through his work, Rooijakkers criticizes the dominant anthropocentric (human-centered) worldview. Instead, his installations recognise the inherent value, beauty and importance of non-human, natural entities. By harmoniously intertwining different materials together, Rooijakkers represents the self-evident, holistic and eco-centric ways of thinking.

This way of thought puts nature, its processes, and the interconnectedness of the world at the core of being. With this, Rooijakkers' work invites us to reflect on the exploitative way we relate to the world in our current time. It is an invitation to open up to new ways of being, where a love and respect for all beings, preserve the integrity of the environment we live in and protect its ecosystems and biodiversity.