About TÊTE-À-TÊTE
For me the beauty of Tete-a-Tete lies in its simplicity, in returning to childhood, exercising myself and my openness through poetry and abstraction, leaving ready-made structures and rules. Tete-a-Tete is a unique way to break out of an oppressive and judgmental system into a more fluid world of ”unknowing” reflecting by being here an now with your skin, colors, shapes, and open eyes … to be able to lightly interpret many interactions and let others do the same…
-Malgorzata Rey on Tete-a-Tete
I am far from the world of art, but it attracts me enormously. Tete-a-Tete experience showed me (like in the mirror) the very essence of who I am: adventurous, but square, seeking for rules and willing to break them, searching for deep meaning in everything I do while sometimes the being is the meaning. So to me, it was a journey to myself.
-Tamara Anosovich on Tete-a-Tete
I was nervous before the experience. I was thinking: Elisa, what had you in mind when you signed up for the event? Another person is going to see from really close your body and draw on it. At the same time, I was really curious about the experience in general. In the last period, pretty randomly, on a couple of occasions, I had part of my body painted and I enjoyed it. So I think this experience was just calling me. After I felt light and I had beautiful energy for the following days.
- Elisa Borroni on Tete-a-Tete
I enjoyed this tete-a-tete very much. It was magic to stop talking from the moment we entered the elevator, which was a freaky experience by itself with all those mirrors. When we started it seemed to me that an hour would be very long. But the more we got into it a more and more loose and creative time became irrelevant. In the beginning I was too much comparing this experience to the normal conversation and behaved like that. But this felt like I didn’t behave free. So, I dropped this and just followed the flow and jumped into it on my intuition. It became language by itself. And I felt nicely connected. When we came downstairs again and girls were asking how it was I looked at other participants and I saw big transformation, not only the warrior face paint but we looked so relaxed as if we just came out of a sauna. What was very special for me as a body painter is the new input and inspiration this beautiful experience gave for my future body paintings.
- Laetitia on Tete-a-Tete
About TÊTE-À-TÊTE ONLINE
It was a very interesting work experience. Emancipation is complete for me. It was interesting to know what the limit would be in this practice. It was your approach that really helped me, I felt safe and was able to relax. I liked the fact that we did not communicate in voices, but only in gestures and drawings. The coolest moments for me are the repetition of the technique noticed by the interlocutor. Such an exchange is incredible!
- Katy Bental on Tete-a-Tete Online
I so much relate silence with healing, so while we were communicating in silence my mind was healing. But at the same time using your body as a communication surface, is teaching you how to be social in ”hush”. Each line we were drawing could be followed by our eyes yet it was an invisible connection to each participant's mind, which can be visible when it's outflow by your facial expressions such as a ”smile”. So it was so nice to see you guys smiling :) and thank you for healing and making me smile without a word.
- Su Barikan on Tete-a-Tete Online
I have participated in the project a few times and I get such pleasure and joy from everything that happens. Time flies by in a flash! It is tantamount to happiness when you forget about everything! And when you paint you feel pleasure from your imagination. Thank you !!!
-Sasha on Tete-a-Tete Online
For me, the experience was both creative and somehow it felt like an intimate conversation. Not sexual. Sensual .. physical. Like we were all dancing very intimately with feeling of the strokes on our skin. But also dancing with each other.
— Jeroen Hoekstra on Tete-a-Tete Online
You have an interesting approach toward the more traditional ways of showing art, yours is more an interactive art experience where the viewer is as much the creator of the artwork as you. My body becoming a drawing pad opened up new ways of thinking about the possibilities of a body and shared bodily experience. felt privileged to take part in this experimental “pause” of my daily life.“
- Julia Cremers on Tete-a-Tete Online
About DAY COLLECTIVE
Just now i have visited the DAY
electrified world wide epiphany site,
and what an interesting
pair of collectives you are, gathering
seeds, tools, education, performances
and conceptions on your way
from east to the west,
gentle and spirited, i like it ;-)
-Istvan
As someone who loves and deals with literature, I can say that languages not only build bridges between people, they also build walls and borders. This is especially so in languages other than native language. You have as much freedom to act as the number of words and language skills you have… However, which words can be more effective than a person's eyes and body? What language can suffice to express the depth of a soul?..
That's why I highly value and find your silence and body-centered projects so meaningful. Because in silence, status, poverty, and wealth, local and foreign are lost. Silence is instructive. Silence is listening, smelling, feeling, getting excited and understanding. Silence is equality…
- Murad
About SOFT EDGES INSTALLATION
…I feel so strongly you together have accomplished already build a space, as well physical and energetical, to create the complementary: a holding structure of light and brightness and so grounded. So you are already with your being, life, art, the complementary to all this darkness. Sharing it with others.
…
As we were sitting in the space,
eating your lovely, simple and energising food, on cushions filled with the richness of mother nature, so that we sit nicely warm and firm, and around us this ring of authenticity=beauty of your drawings, lit by the generous daylight coming into your space, and around the world with the biking people and all, I felt the space is such a complete package of space, light, energy, you, like a bowl able to contain all fruits of life: raw and ripe, dark and light. It would be so good to install such spaces as a whole of space, light, drawings, you, on more then one place. You, keeping on drawing and setting up these spaces of encounter all over the world.
- Pien Vrijhof
About SOFT SCULPTURE
This is absolutely one of the most sensitive creative and therapeutic artwork ever. You both created a very special art collective that gives light, comfort and creativity insights to anyone that comes your way. You are so blessed.
Much love and appreciation from me.
-Dafna Rehavia
About FULL MOON RITUAL
A unique experience! A return to the primitive essence of the one, of unity! Personally, it was an opening of inner doors linked to my ancestral memories. A feeling of peace, connection to Mother Earth and the moon in all its beauty and power! A celebration of simplicity, of the essential. Without forgetting the marvelous synchronicities of the energies moving between nature and between us, with fluid and playful movements, unexpected jokes from the moon, and an amazing big falling star at the end Going back to rediscovering that intuitive play, that authenticity of being and devotion to the imperceptible. Simply lovely. Absolutely recommended! Thank you.
-Guliana Suriano on Full Moon Ritual
About NOMADIC PICNIC
The Nomadic Picnics offer an interesting opportunity to study alternative ways in which people can interact, experience intimacy, and even sensuality with others — even though they may have never met before.
-Rens Wilderom on Nomadic Picnic
Thank you for letting me experience such an amazing art piece. It was a beautiful performance with great interactions and I enjoyed every piece. I found the location very interesting, because the space between the artworks in the room made the experience more intense. The food was very tasty. The sitting mats also worked very well. They were comfy and easy to move around the space. About the food and interaction I have something important to say. I completely didn’t expect this performance could evoke feelings about my psychological trauma which is related to food and child abuse. I don’t want to scare you off with this information. But your performance had a therapeutical effect on me. I was extremely surprised by this, because only the best psychologists can create this same effect. So thank you for this extra experience.
- Consuela on Nomadic Picnic