Tanja Smeets

Tanja Smeets presents her installation The roots swirl beneath the pavement specially adapted for the cabinet in our museum. This installation was previously on display at Kunsthal KAdE in Amersfoort. View the installation here: https://www.tanjasmeets.nl/all-images/onder-het-plaveisel-wervelen-de-wortels

The roots swirl beneath the pavement conjures up images of flowing and dripping growth processes of organic appearances. The invasive plant species, which completely merge with the exhibition space, resemble primitive forms from the beginning of time or a science fiction landscape after a devastating apocalypse.

On closer inspection, Smeets' use of materials brings you back to the here and now. Everyday household, garden and kitchen objects such as chip sieves or soup spoons are transformed into enigmatic and gently rustling landscapes of fungi, roots and mold, through the use of raffia, yarn, felt and colors such as copper and black.

Tanja Smeets says: 'The materials take on a different kind of beauty in large numbers. New structures arise and with them new connotations, associations and meanings. Properties of different utensils merge with finer materials such as braided cords, laser cutting of felt or the structures of ceramics.'

Tanja Smeets, The roots swirl beneath the pavement, Verwey Museum Haarlem, 2024 © Christian van der Kooy