Juliette de Graaf
1983--The Netherlands
Juliette’s art is the result of the study for memory. Memories fade and personal memories coincide with collective memories. The story anchored within us is constantly changing and so is the collective story. Stories are retold and twisted and become and exist non-linear. Her work shows the transformative and temporal story. A painting, a canvas, a drawing, these are temporary documents that try to be immortalized. All works are part of a story, on the one hand a personal canon on the other, this personal canon is also linked to an art historical canon.
The capricious history, the unreliability of memories, the use of painting to evoke - or create - memories and the unique combination of art-historical 'facts', autobiographical elements and fiction result in a new way of storytelling.
In her studio, the performative act of concealment is a struggle, a struggle with painting, a struggle with the past. And once again painting is under discussion. The studio is a place of doubt, discussion, and references. This results in a non-linear story. Different moments in time communicating with each other. The transformation of the past through the now fascinates her, how new insights can transform the past.