Lying in a Bed of Surrounding Matter

Noa Zuidervaart received a grant to develop In Lying in a Bed of Surrounding Matter. In the project, Noa investigates the physical and metaphysical connections between (human and more-than-human) bodies and the surrounding space. Experimenting with new uses and manipulations of materials such as ceramics, textiles and aluminum, he creates an installation in which the same materials are employed to shape different elements. For example, clay serves as the basis for producing both human body parts, autonomous organisms and integral parts of the landscape within the installation. Using the same material for various forms of existence exposes that everything within our reality is composed of the same matter and that we can all be traced back to the same core.

Noa explores the complex web of entanglements inherent in our reality, inspired by archaic worldviews and contemporary understandings around ecology and the environment. He works with a diverse range of media, including drawings, sculptures, text and found objects, which he typically activates through space-filling installations. His artistic process draws on diverse sources ranging from mythological motifs and animism to modern science and comics. In 2021, Noa earned his BA Illustration Design from ArtEZ University of the Arts. Since then, his work has been exhibited at B32 in Maastricht, Drawing Centre Diepenheim and Kunstpodium T in Tilburg, among others. In 2023, his work was awarded the Jan Naaijkens Prize.