PROJECTS | Mysite 1

Living Alongside is an ongoing, deep mapping project centred around Torck Park in
Wageningen.

How do you get to know a new place?
What’s so interesting about scratching beneath the surface?
Do you find it important to hold a deeper understanding of where you live?

As someone who has many times in my life, these are important questions for me. Developing a rich sense of place helps me to feel grounded, involved and more content wherever I am.

LIVING ALONGSIDE

2024 on-going

I live in the centre of the town and am intrigued by Torck Park and the way it is used. The
park is a place which gives outdoor freedom to people who live or work locally. It is close to

the city centre and forms part of a green route out to the Uitewaarde. The park is a home to all kinds of living things. It’s a shared space; small, hard working and tough!
I walk to the park most days; on my way to other places, gathering artifacts for the project, or
just to be there. It’s near enough to my home to hear what is happening, from picnics to
music festivals, from film nights to performances so I often wander over to share what’s
going on.
Sometimes gathering material for the project is literal; I collect anything I find interesting from
bottle tops to dandelion seeds, from feathers to cigarette buts. You could ask ‘why?’ For me,
they are all representations of aspects of the park, they all lie alongside each other and
illustrate just how many different living things use this small area. The contrasting
juxtapositions of artifacts highlights questions about the place such as: who is the space for
and how can we be part of caring for this precious environment?’
I have observed and recorded some of the plant life, birds, insects and mammals. So far this
is a bit of an eclectic mix, especially when it comes to illustrating them. I definitely have my
favourites and realise that so far many are the flowers I learnt the names of as a child. This
recognition and recall as well as the connection across many years and miles helps to
weave all the parts of my life together.
I am building up quite an album of events in the park as well as photos of the park through
the seasons. These have links to time and the patterns of the park.
I am also gathering stories; I often stop to chat to people about why they are in the park and
what they like about it.
It is an interesting quest to track down old maps and photos. These are helping me to build up
a historical timeline of the park.

Do you want to get involved?
I am gradually putting together a portable museum to house the project.
This will be on display in the summer at Kunst in de Kerk on 6th and 9th August.
Why don’t you come and visit and add your own experiences to the project.

This is a self funded project and I would appreciate your help and participation to give new
life and perspectives on the park.
● I ask any scientific thinkers to come and make detailed catalogues of the trees,
plants, birds, insects, mammals …
● I invite any of you who have spent time in the park to send your personal experiences
and photos.
● I would like to hear stories of anyone who knew the park and buildings nearby when
they were part of the Hoogeschoollandbouw and University.
● I welcome all your suggestions for other ideas.

Want to know more about deep mapping?

“Deep mapping is not a map in a cartographic sense…it is about articulating multiple,
individual, social and environmental understandings of and stories about a particular place.”
Iain Biggs

Deep mapping aims to understand many layers of memory, experience and perception.
Deep mapping draws on many ‘voices’; academic, activist, myth telling, scientific … all help
to give new dimensions.
Deep mapping explores a place through walks, discussions, writing, using senses …. to
name but a few.
Deep mapping can be used to shift perceptions, alter behavior and create change.

ZIE JE MIJ?
DO YOU SEE ME?

Mary Webster, Fransje Smit, Odensehuis Wageningen

This six month, cultural participation project 'Do you see me?' took place at the Odensehuis in Wageningen.The Odensehuis is a meeting place for people with memory problems and dementia and their care and support givers.

I work each week at the Odensehuis both as a volunteer and as an art teacher. The project evolved from a recognition of the role discussion plays in art sessions as well as how a more organic, process based approach to creating art can help those with memory loss.

Each person worked step by step on a layered portrait. The groups were small and benefitted from the years of experience Fransje and I have built up. The sessions provided an inclusive environment where all participants were encouraged to have open and constructive conversations; these were both personal in nature, as well as about life and art in general. They created moments of sharing that were both stimulating and moving. The portraits represent a moment in the maker's time and each one reflects the individuality of the maker.

It was valuable for the team members of Odensehuis, and the care givers to work together creatively. People got to know each other in new ways and also gained new insights into dementia.

A public exhibition of the 65 portraits served as place of celebration as well as a moment when dementia, uniqueness and diversity in society were made visable. It stimulated discussions around the principal that every person counts; something very dear to my heart.

BLUE

Mary Webster, Franje Smit, Petra Sips

This project began during the Summer of Culture in Wageningen in 2023.

Over 170 people of all ages and nationalities responded to the colour blue in a workshop in the Grote Kerk in Wageningen. People mixed blue, named their blue and wrote down their associations with the colour.

Since then I have been responding creatively to those colours and texts.

UITEWARDEN

This project was made in response to daily walks in the local area.

'Walking is the exact balance of spirit and humility.'

Gary Snyder

This series of mixed media collage and painting were made in response to the colour and energy I encountered when out walking. They follow the changing seasons and are a reminder of my relationship with the area.

IMPRINT

This project explores our connections with each other and what it is to be a migrant.

The faces are of people I know. Some of them are still present in my life, others played an important part in my life but are left behind. These meetings and leavings are a part of my way of life. All the encounters carry both a richness and an emotional toll. The work expresses those feelings. The closed eyes represent the duality of presence and absence. These people are part of me and will always be. Their imprint is indelible.

The second phase of the work is the imprint of the faces in sand. The photographing of these creates the optical illusion that the faces are prominent instead of hollow. This dual perspective reflects the duality of bonding and leaving behind. The sand is an illusion to the ‘sands of time’; that we are all part of the cycle of life; fragile. Our value in life is marked by our legacy, the imprint we leave behind. In time the pressed images also disappear.

SAINT KEVIN
& THE BLACKBIRD

These sculptures explore aspects of faith through the story of Saint Kevin.

The story is beautifully interpreted in the poem by Seamus Heaney.

WOMAN

This group of works uses mixed media and a layered, intuitive approach to create the art work. The process is about letting go and allowing the image to emerge.