Maak Het Mee! Pop UP Expo got EXTENDED!

Having barely survived our impromptu Live Art & Music Jam, some of us gathered again the next afternoon. Not to gather the remains of the night before (okay, a little bit of cleaning was involved) but to take some pictures and to help our 12th artist hang her work, as we are now with 12 in total!

Along with first initial members Niks Art Fart (Nik Draaijer), Stephanie van Loenen/YARA, POSYX en Dolle Baas (translation: Mad Boss), Casper.Inc, Jimmy Granti, Roland Hendrik en Quint Hartmann, new participants Naomian Jansen and Ann Katherine completed our little Pop Up Posse.

And you can see all of our works and MORE Live Art & Music Jammin' this coming Saturday, March 7th. It's then that MuseumNight 2015 hits Rotterdam and we figured, it'd be shame to let such an opportunity go to waste. So, we are currently busy organising a fun programme, pretty much like last Friday but with some added extra's. It'll be like a warm up for the actual Museum Night, so if you are in town or going to be anyway .. our Pop Up is wham, bam! in the very heart of Down Town Rotterdam and it's for free!

Do NOT forget to check our NEW Facebook event page, especially if you live in Rotterdam!

Maak Het Mee! Pop Up Expo is part of the Maak Het Mee! Mini Festival in Rotterdam area Het Oude Westen. Aim of this event is to highlight the local makers' movement in this part of downtown Rotterdam and espcially the arts, crafts & fashion. An idea by Menno Rosier, Cultuurscout Centrum in a joint venture with Christy de Witt and realised with the input & support by many local parties and entrepreneurs.

Maak Het Mee! The Pop Up Expo is realised by all participating artists with the help & support of Lennard de Vlieger & Cretopia Foudation; and ofcourse Alliantie West-Kruiskade and Woonstad Rotterdam, in particular Armando Sorrentino.

'H.U.R.T.' love, lust, power and destruction created a popular Witty Art Series

Most of you might not know this, or not realise it, but it has been only since 2011, I picked up pen and paper and started making Witty Art again - after a long, long time, I can only describe as 'creative drought'. Well, as far as expressing my own visions and thoughts, that is. I was indeed - and still am - very actively involved in the worlds of culture and the arts, but not as a visual artist myself.  You can read a bit more on that and my creative entrepreneuship here.

One of the series that played a significant, if not crucial part in my 'resurrection' as an artist, it's 'H.U.R.T.: Harmful/Hurtful Useless Roadkill Targets'.

A series, made up of in total 11 works, in black and white, basically depicting a bunch of bunnies, well, hurting each other. Up till this very day, it's one of my most dark, most intense series, as it was created in the midst of extreme, personal pains. It was also created as consequence of such. The kettle was boiling over, the volcano had started erupting and to be honest, it hasn't stopped ever since ..

At first, I was extremely hesitant to show this series to people, as it was so powerfully intense but so .. well, confronting, in many ways. But, when I had to make the decision which works to showcase during the exhibtion 'The Sleep Of Reason Breeds Monsters', I felt no hesitation at all. I just had to.
 

I can still remember the sensation of seeing that one wall in (the sadly now closed down) Gesamt Galerie, where 9 of the 11 'Dark Bunnies', as they have come to be known, were displayed, with two of them hanging seperately elsewhere. One wall of stark black and white images of power, of vengeance, of anger, of hate, of destruction, and,yes, pretty much of love too. And above all, of humanity.

And .. surprisingly, this was the series that got most positive feedback from visitors, as many of them were genuinely touched by what I was trying to say with it. I had many conversations with people about this series, exchanging thoughts on love, lust, hurt and, let's say, ''la condition humaine''.

And .. this series has also proven to be quite popular, as already 4 out of 11 have been sold. And although it always touches me deeply when someone buys a Witty Art Work, no matter the size or price, and provides it with a new home, it feels extra special to know that there are people out there who have made a specific choice for this series.