Inspiration can be found everywhere, and at the most unexpected moments. But for me, it isn’t linked to a particular place. Also, I’m not really much of a society kind of person: perhaps that could explain it. But Eindhoven has definitely given me an awful lot. A fantastic workspace in the TAC, great assignments and the space to organize things. And I can really be myself here. When I was living in Rotterdam I was completely trapped within a commercial format, whereas here I have far more freedom. But it’s also possible that all this is down to the phase of life I’m currently in.
It started with a hint that I should do some work with ASML. I immediately thought of Toine Klaassen, born and raised in Eindhoven and now living and working in Rotterdam. Years ago he worked as a lab technician, but he began to feel that this wasn’t his true path. So he decided to change tack and study at the Rietveld Academy. He’s now a full-time sculptor. A man with boundless imagination and an impassioned collector of anything he can use to express the intricate threads of his ideas. The plan was for Toine and me to go to ASML together. However, an initial phone call to the company quickly threw a spanner in the works: no filming is allowed at ASML. OK, time for a change of plan then…
The two of us retreated to Toine’s studio, our minds filled with ASML and the slogan ‘Believe Beyond Science’. Toine totally set himself loose. The portrayal of science and technology began with performances from a professor, a slave, and a god. And it ended with the notion that in the world behind science only madness reigns. I took countless shots. The end result is my interpretation of everything Toine expressed. A crazy puzzle.
