#15 Robin van Leijsen
Robin van Leijsen creates eccentric paintings and portraits of people close to her and through commissions. Robin’s graduating work, which they got to show as a Best of Graduate this year at Ron Mandos, was recently purchased by the director of Museum Voorlinden. Robin made their mark on a broader audience by participating in 'Sterren op het Doek' in 2021.
Your graduation work was about your love for shoes. How did this originate?
"I often have a notebook filled with all sorts of random ideas. I had created a small mind map and discovered how many idioms involve shoes. I thought I could really delve into this topic for a long time. I also genuinely love clothing, how it's made, the shapes. But the subject of shoes alone already carries so much poetry!
Normally, I start creating and only later find my reason. But with this series, I began by outlining the concept first, determining what I wanted to convey. And having that underlying theme really helped. I knew I wanted to create something based on my father's shoes; my mother always said that from a young age, I had a connection with a specific pair of my father's shoes. Those elegant shoes were reserved only for weddings, beautifully polished and made ready for the next grand occasion. Especially with leather shoes, when you buy them, they're smooth, but as you wear them, wrinkles and scars appear, it gains character, it becomes a persona. I found that very poetic, even though I had never really engaged with poetry before because I assumed I wouldn’t be any good at it. But now I thought, 'You know what, I'm going to give it a try.' For my thesis, I researched nostalgia and obsessions, how they originate, and why they matter. With 'Heavy Words,' I explored the pain directed towards women and the relationship between men and women. For example I looked at my mom and dad. Which shoe am I allowed to wear? I've always been obsessed with my father's shoes, but do they really fit me? But wouldn't my mother's shoes suit me better?
At one point, I created two wooden stilts that I walked around Rotterdam with while filming myself. It was a literal translation of a poem I had written called 'My Big Heavy Shoes.' Eventually, I gave the video a different name. I remember walking down a flight of stairs once with those shoes. Because it was a struggle, I stepped out of one shoe and placed it a step lower, as if to say you have the choice to step out, but you keep going back. At the end of the video, I jump out of the shoes into the sea, symbolizing breaking free from the pattern. The shoe became a tool to process larger themes like generational pain, and the subtle misogyny experienced around us.
After that video, I wanted to create a sculpture, so I made a tree from fabric with ceramic shoes attached to it that let out water. There was a pump in the tree that distributed water to the branches. This was my first kinetic sculpture ever. (pictured image on the left below).
Has your love for shoes grown stronger due to walking the Santiago de Compostela?
"No, I think that was more of a mental, spiritual experience. It was so magical, like living life in a miniature world and learning more about oneself. It's more about my love for walking and sometimes daring to step out. Of course, there's a connection to shoes, but it's far more of a visual one here. I do want to create a painting about it though."
Has modeling influenced your artistic practice?
"You do learn more about posing; I know now how I want to present myself in a self-portrait. Also through walking classes, I can bring a different energy to people, especially when I need to appear very professional in galleries or with clients. It makes you more conscious of your posture. But otherwise, no. With modeling, it's someone else's vision, while with my portraits, I'm the one in control. Modeling actually started with my participation in 'Sterren op het Doek' the tv show; my booker saw me, and then I received a message asking me to model. That message kinda turned my life upside down in a positive way."
How was it to be part of 'The Best of Graduates' this year?
"A week after the graduation show, I received a call that I was part of it this year. It was so special; I couldn't believe it. It's incredibly interesting to learn about how galleries function, and they provide great guidance. Meeting graduates from other art academies is also quite special. For many graduates, it's their first contact with a gallery. Learning to network and suddenly having to price your art is very interesting. I knew how to do it with my paintings, but not with my sculptures and videos. I later found out that the painting I had created was already sold a few days before the VIP opening to the director of the Voorlinden Museum. It felt truly surreal."