‘Om te bewaren’
This project was conceived during a residency organised by Stichting Destination Unknown. The edition of 2021 took place in an old cigar factory in Tegelen.
For Destination Unknown I wanted to bring together two different histories of Tegelen. Tegelen is known for its rich ceramic past, which at the time of the Romans was already quite impressive. During my research I stumbled upon the old cigar boxes that the company Vossen-Breuers made and used. I knew at that moment I wanted to recreate these boxes using ceramics.
Luckily, I got help from the wonderful team at De Tiendschuur, which is a ceramics centre and museum in Tegelen. The cigar boxes were recreated using the most modern techniques available.
Knowing that the factory of Vossen-Breuers would soon partly disappear and be rebuilt, I wanted to preserve the story of the building. The new residents of the factory building will receive one of those boxes for safekeeping.
Special thanks to: Destination Unknown, Venterra, De Tiendschuur Tegelen, J. Giesen, I. Helmes, S. Odenhoven & C. Hovens.
‘Om te bewaren’ - 2021
Ceramics cigar boxes.
12 x 18 x 2 cm
Exhibition Destination Unknown
As an installation I showed the cigar boxes, together with a slideshow of images, which were taken at the quarry in Tegelen, one of the last working cigar factories in the Netherlands and the Vossen-Breuers factory building.
The photographs showed places of decay, structures in sand and clay, frayed tobacco leaves, machinery and reflective surfaces.
