Nienke Hartog (Groningen 1976)

When I start a drawing, I'm the first to act. I whisper to the cotton, "Come on, tell me." I don't have a preconceived plan in mind; we're having a dialogue. I draw, listen, record, respond, and look. Or perhaps I don't look. In this way, I tentatively explore the surface. Moments and shapes appear and disappear, I move with them. As I struggle, an image of a person emerges, or is it our humanity? Is it our discomfort, our remorse, our trust? I work with sighs, scrapes, and breaths. It's very physical. It is my own hand, and these are movements that often precede consciousness. I then recognize fragments of images, of memories and thoughts. The visible movement released as energy in the drawing is very important to me. For me, it represents the power of life, of true feeling. In my drawings, I can get lost, search, and encounter. Yes, I wish that for you too!

 

My drawings are supported by paper and cotton, sometimes small, sometimes larger than life. A smaller format gives me the feeling of being transported to a moment; it's very intimate. When the drawing literally embraces me through its size and I can physically use my entire body while drawing, it feels like I'm truly being transported into another environment. I thoroughly enjoy varying both formats.

 

I draw with charcoal and pastels. Materials that make it possible to explore the surface for as long as possible and allow me to search as I draw. They leave traces, my search trails. These latent narratives are layers beneath the surface, allowing me to delve deeper into the drawing. They also invite me to explore. Sometimes a line draws you into an association, only to be led by another line to another interpretation. I find this ambiguity truly fascinating. It's also a very direct and sensitive material, it instantly translates my thinking hand into something visible. And although I draw with it every day, it never ceases to amaze me.

 

A drawing is finished when it has a life of its own. As if it says, "That's how it is, that's how it should be."

​

All my drawings are created from imagination and memory. I live and work in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands.