At first glance, they appear to be mere photographs. Not surprisingly, Rosa Everts uses her photographs as the basis for her art. However, it soon becomes clear that her works play with a certain layering. Indeed, up close they look more like drawings. How does that work exactly? Everts: ‘I start by looking for a good picture from my collection of self-taken photos. I print these on photo print paper and then I add snippets. These come from newspapers or magazines. For example, in the Display series, I use snippets of images from holiday destinations. A closed shop window combined with beautiful views that you don't see creates a certain tension. I find that interesting. Furthermore, I emphasise certain lines with pencil.’
ADDITIONS THAT CANNOT BE REVERSED
Technique seems important in these photographic drawings, and this is confirmed by Everts. ‘I don't think I could work out these subjects in any other technique. The combination of photograph, drawing and collage creates a certain alienation. It creates multiple realities, as it were, because it's such a layered image.’ The mixture of these media therefore proved essential in working out these issues for Everts. The most important part of the creation process is apparently the observation part: ‘When I make something, I spend about two-thirds of the time looking at how I want to shape the composition. That's because most additions cannot be reversed. So it has to be right the first time.’
Why is Everts concerned with topics such as emptiness and the unknown? ‘They are themes within which I can develop my technique. Also, they can be fleshed out in many ways, so I can always approach the topics from a different perspective.’ Everts' work is about creating tension, through the apparent omission of a subject. So it doesn't mean that these topics are just used to further Everts' technique. She does want to convey a story.
HIDDEN STORIES IN THE TITLES OF WORKS
The narrative in her work used to be individual and anecdotal, but has now slowly shifted to working out large, general themes. These ‘stories’ are hidden in the titles of the works and other areas. In The Newspaper series 9, for example, you see a newspaper buried under a calendar, a USB cable, liquorice and confetti. In doing so, Everts pays attention to the way in which serious news can get lost in a sea of mundane activities. But without a moral message: the work is not intended as a critique of our society. The viewer is free to come up with their own narrative here. ‘I notice that sometimes — when I read a serious article in the newspaper that moves me — that I quickly get back to the order of the day. I used that as the basis for this work.’
In addition to exhibiting her photographic drawings, Everts has transformed one of the gallery's walls into a work of art. On it are the characteristic snippets, which she uses in the work on display. ‘A gallery is really just an empty space too.’ So I used a wall as a support and that's how I pulled my art into the space.’
Unknown Content will be on display until 23 December at gallerie with tsjalling:.
Text: Iris Rijnsewijn
Image 1: Rosa Everts, External Memory, 2017 - mixed media on paper
Image 2: Rosa Everts, The Newspaper series 9, 2017 - mixed media on photo print on paper
Image 3: Rosa Everts, Display 6, 2017 - mixed media on photo print on paper