Esther Nienhuis

'A desire to be elsewhere is the central theme of my work. I approach the experience of Unfulfilled Desire as a condition in which Heimweh (longing for the known) and Fernweh (longing for the unknown) intertwine. The urge to leave behind inevitably implies loss and farewell. I want to make the metaphorical boundary perceptible that isolates the here and now from other realities - past, future or imaginary.

 

In the series called Saudade I represent this boundary as a physical one. A view is shown from behind the rain-covered or sun-lit windscreen of a car. Thick drops dance over the screen or are smashed against the side, swept away by the wipers. The film of water and the reflection of the sun on the otherwise invisible glass partly deform the view. This perturbing layer is always present, in between here and elsewhere. The screen uncovers the world that is longed for and excludes it at the same time.'

- Esther Nienhuis

Dutch-born Esther Nienhuis studied Fine Arts at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague and has exhibited in Europe, the United States, Canada, Asia and Australia. She was awarded with the Dutch art prize Gasunie Kunstprijs in 2011 and in 2012 two of her works were selected for the ZomerExpo at the Gemeentenmuseum in The Hague, the Dutch equivalent to the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in London.