Curiosity, imagination’s best friend

As children, we are very curious. We marvel at everything around us and, of course, ask “why” about everything. I can’t help but laugh when my sister tells me the kinds of questions her children ask and how they answer them, such as “why do people have ears” or “why does an elephant have a trunk?” This is what it’s like when, as children, we are learning about everything new and wonderful.

As adults, our lives are filled not only with knowledge but with so much more. There is busyness, stress, responsibilities, and even though we carry the skill of curiosity throughout our lives, it can sometimes be forgotten. In the midst of a busy life, we don’t always have the time to pause and truly reflect on what surrounds us.

When I was a child, I was always eager to come up with new things. My parents constantly had to fetch more paper and pencils as soon as I ran out. I loved inventing all sorts of imaginative worlds and characters. Later, this passionate curiosity faded. I still noticed the things around me, but that was it. I didn't think much beyond that, not did I create any art. It took years to rediscover that childlike curiosity, and from there began a new way of seeing the world. Both in art and in life in general.

When I rediscovered curiosity, it felt as if a bubble around me had burst, and I began seeing the world in a new way. Not as a rush, but as a richness of experiences. This also gave rise to a new way of looking at art, through the lens of curiosity. I began playing with different ideas, and from them, new worlds began to take shape, one after another. In my art, I enjoy precisely the ability to combine imagination and reality, and see what emerges from that.

Wonderland 2022

The next time you pause for a moment and reflect on what's around you, what do you notice? How does it feel? It is in that quiet moment that something meaningful can be born.