During opening hours Het Harde Potlood is laying out a paper garden that serves as the decor for their performances.
Since 21rozendaal has hardly any walls, it was not obvious how to show drawings. Still it had to be possible. In Het Harde Potlood (HHP) I found exactly what I was looking for. These artists deal with drawings in a spatial way. Their drawings are neither confined to the flat surface nor are they limited to common drawing materials. HHP (Richtje Reinsma, 1979, Roosmarijn Schoonewelle, 1980 en Heleen Wiemer, 1978) is an entrepreneurial collective with fantastic ideas. I wanted to create with HHP an exhibition that would constantly change and that wouldn’t need to be finished for the opening, in fact, would only start then. HHP met my wishes beautifully by laying out a ′garden′ of immense drawings and constructions of plastic, wood and paper.
HHP compares their manner of working with gardening. In part one can influence the way a garden grows, in part nature will take its own course. The artists worked in the garden during opening hours. This made the exhibition process visible and the public could be made aware of the extent to which making art is just work and that it takes time and effort. The garden also served as the backdrop for three short shows. ‘De Grote Plantenshow 1’ (The Big Plants show 1), for example, was a combination of puppet theatre, show ballet and parade. On the virtual compost pile (the blog) the artists kept records of the developments. The blog was also available as a resource in the exhibition itself.
In addition to Het Harde Potlood I also made exhibitions in 21rozendaal with Bruno Peinado, Wendy Morris and a flourishing generation of Belgian artists.
