Yellow Gold Edged
My parents had a pond. Nothing special, just a square shell filled with water in the corner of the garden. Every year, we had a couple of goldfish and a handful of frogs. One hot summer day, my father was standing next to the pond with a scoop net in his hand, shouting excitedly, “I saw it, that’s it!”. My brother and I came running over. “It was right there,” he said, “the yellow gold edged diving beetle. It has eaten all the fish and frogs.” We stared into the depths of the pond, but saw no sign of a beetle. For weeks, I imagined that a huge monster was living in our pond. That summer, whenever I was anywhere near the pond, I put my rubber boots on. Flip-flops and bare feet seemed to me far too dangerous.
I think that is where it all began, this urge to make things bigger than they really are. My forget-me-nots are as big as side plates, my peonies the size of car tyres. But it’s also my admiration and fascination for the smallest details in flowers and plants that motivate me to magnify everything. I want to create a world you can get lost in.
Linda Nieuwstad, February 2013
For Linda Nieuwstad’s exhibition Christiane Berndes, curator and Head of Collections of the Van Abbemuseum, has selected a number of pieces from the Van Abbe depot around the flower theme that we display in our showcase.
You find an overview of the available art works by Linda Nieuwstad by clicking the following link.
For the most recent selection of art works in the Van Abbevitrine, please click the following link.
Read the newsletter about the exhibition by Piet Hein Eek here.
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