Prologue - Sea Buckthorn

October, 2024

Sea Buckthorn II, green earth from Italy, burnt Sienna and rock pigments from The Hague Dunes on cotton canvas, 120 x 120 cm

Every year, during the dawning of Fall, the dunes surprise me with a carnival of colour. Thousands of orange berries contrast the sage foliage surrounding them. My eyes feast on the splendour of colour, and I notice that I am not the only one bewildered. Birds, mostly redwings and fieldfares, soar drunkenly through the dunes, searching for more of the divine nourishment that is the sea buckthorn.

Walking the same path through the dunes multiple times a week, made me meet the same sea buckthorn again, and again. At first, I only met him at distance, gently scanning him with my eyes and taking in the painting he is. But plants have a way, just like human beings and other kin do, to allow you in closer once you spend more time with them. I felt comfortable embracing his small, slender leaves and run the slightly dry, waxy berries through my fingers.

These first intentional meetings, happened about two years ago. I could not help but dedicate a part of my visual practice to finding a better understanding of the sea buckthorn. I found his beauty and his place in the ecosystem of the dunes so very captivating.

This year again, in the falling of summer, I got to meet the sea buckthorn day after day. As he bloomed, my human capacity to create visual works, did so too. Hours spent painting, with pigment made from earth and stones found in the dunes, resulted in another work dedicated to my now years' old friend.

This intervention of blooming together, both in our different ways, is the foundation of The Kin Project. Through working with the sea buckthorn over a longer period of time, I feel like I've gathered a lifelong ally. I feel at home when I see him in places I have never visited before.

That is why The Kin Project is a decision to start approaching the living world around us not filled with things or strangers, but as friends and allies. My way of building connection is through listening, understanding and creating. The sea buckthorn helped me remember that, and through this practice, the start of The Kin Project came to be. I can't be anything other than deeply grateful. I can't wait to tell him about all the beautiful things that came to be because of him.

Sea Buckthorn I, acryl on cotton canvas, 30 x 30 cm