FLOODTIDE
// Dokkaffee, Heijplaatstraat 3, RDM / Heijplaat, Rotterdam
A powerful solo exhibition of new work by Dutch Canadian artist Monique Sliedrecht opens in Rotterdam on 5th September. The work includes paintings, photographs and installations created from buoys, ropes and nets from the Far North of Scotland.
‘This is an important exhibition for me,’ according to Monique, ‘because it brings together so many strands of inspiration in my life. The work reflects my own personal journey from Canada to the northern reaches of Scotland, where I have lived for 10+ years. My parents are Dutch and they emigrated from the Netherlands to Canada in the 1970’s. Now my life has come full circle – at least artistically – by returning to Holland.’
Monique studied fine arts and teaching in America, developing her painting through further study in Toronto and Edinburgh. ‘It’s as if various elements in my life are floating together, driven by mysterious forces, in this work. I like the idea of drifting from Canada to a tiny seaside village in the far north of Scotland, working on the shores of the remote and lovely Freswick Castle, developing ideas at my studio in Edinburgh, and then bringing everything together in such a famous maritime centre here in Rotterdam.’
For many years, Monique was Director of Arts at Freswick Castle, a few miles south of the most northerly village on mainland Scotland, John O’Groats – a place which takes its name from a famous Fifteenth Century ferryman from Holland, Jan de Groot, who established the ferry service to Orkney. ‘Even in the Highlands of Scotland, I still felt close to the Netherlands – and I have visited many friends and relatives there over the years. But this trip is the most important of all because it is really an artistic homecoming. It is a privilege and a challenge to open a new exhibition in the port of Rotterdam.’
Opening on 5th September at 16.00, during World Port Days.
The show lasts until 5th December 2014
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FLOODTIDE, Rotterdam
FLOODTIDE, Rotterdam
FLOODTIDE, Rotterdam
FLOODTIDE, Rotterdam
FLOODTIDE, Rotterdam
FLOODTIDE, Rotterdam
FLOODTIDE, Rotterdam
'Coracle', Acrylic on canvas, 2013 - SOLD