Vanaf nu spreken we alleen nog maar Engels

Vanaf nu spreken we alleen nog maar Engels (2025) reflects on the artist’s experience of bi cultural hybridity and the rupture that occurred upon migrating to Australia in 1980. The instruction to speak only English from the moment of arrival created an immediate disconnection from Dutch language and culture. Growing up in Brisbane with a strong accent and little cultural grounding intensified this sense of separation, which was later compounded by the experience of coming to terms with sexuality during the socially restrictive Joh Bjelke Peterson era. The work acknowledges the lasting emotional impact of these formative years and the ongoing struggle to reconcile identity, belonging and heritage.

To address this fracture, the artist hand makes paper from both Dutch and Australian books. The act of pulping, mixing and forming sheets becomes a material and symbolic fusion of identities that were once kept apart. The resulting paper carries torn edges, irregularities and imperfections that reflect the complexities of a life shaped by cultural and personal dislocation. The surface itself becomes a record of the negotiation between two histories, two languages and two communities. It stands as a quiet resistance to the expectation of assimilation and a reflection on the feeling of being a square peg placed into a round hole.

Within the context of this exhibition, the work responds to the 1992 Evolution folio box at the Queensland College of Art and Design. By combining paper made from Dutch and Australian books, the artist charts the evolution of their own bi cultural identity and connects it directly to the theme of transformation that shaped the folio box. The year 1992 also marks the artist’s coming out, linking this work to a broader personal trajectory of self acceptance.