Above the entrance to both locations of the BEAR finals exhibition hang very cheerful tapestries by Hebe Diepenmaat entitled Hiiiiiiiii and Ah Joh, vlieg op. It immediately creates a homely feeling, a warm welcome.
Diepenmaat started as a second year student to paint in big colour fields, but never limited herself to a single medium. She was keen to challenge herself by trying out new things. After she had borrowed a tufting gun from her lecturer, she only wanted to make tapestries. She immediately saw the opportunities created by using the device ‘wrongly’. “I ran up against all kinds of unwritten rules, for example that the threads may not cross when tufting and if they do it will explode. But if you cut the threads off again, you get a nice result.”
Diepenmaat’s look carefully considered, but that is an illusion. Her work arises primarily during the making. “I started in the middle and then work my way out. Tufting is a bit like painting, I react to the previous motion. The tapestry responds, as it were. I work based on a semi-concept, for example a welcome mat, but once I am underway I often start again and What I have done into pieces and add it to other bits of tapestry as a collage. I sometimes cut up my own tapestries, but I often use tapestries from IKEA. I like that contrast between the luxury look and every day provenance, but also the shabbiness that worn out carpets can have.”
Carpets have many meanings for Diepenmaat. For instance, they embody homeliness, warmth and hospitality, but they also cover things up and dampen noise. For playing children they are safe havens that protect them against the cold floor. Diepenmaat is looking forward to being an artist and seeing how her work might further evolve. “I'm kind of done with two dimensions and would like to try something sculptural. But I also want to break through the softness that is currently in my work. For this reason, I'm already experimenting with materials like glass and concrete.”
Author: Inge Pollet, curator and poet
