“It can even be in just everyday activities; that can already be enough to inspire me.”
We were in Utrecht! Visiting visual artist Matea Bakula. Her fascination for materials is inspiring and we wanted to know everything about it.
If you could be a material, what would you be and why?
“It’s not so much a specific material that I would like to be, but I would like to be a material that’s well-recyclable.”
Did you dream of a life as an artist as a child?
“Yes, I’ve always wanted to be an artist. I also briefly thought that I wanted to become a lawyer, but then I found out that you had to study long and hard for that. So I thought: never mind.”
Where did your fascination for materials and shapes originate?
“I can remember that as a small child I was always fiddling with something: tearing apart coasters or chewing gum I took out of my mouth. I used that to play with.”
The transformation of materials: can you explain this to us in a comprehensible way?
“The easiest way to explain it is that I see myself as a scout for a modelling agency, who picks girls off the street and dresses them up like Doutzen Kroes. So that everyone can see what makes those girls so beautiful. That’s what I do with materials.”
Does every work of art have a reason or a story?
“Yes, and it can always be something different. It can be pure fascination for the materials I see. Or I’ve delved into the history of a certain material. But there’s always some reason or thought behind it, yes.”
What inspires you?
“Materials inspire me. It can even be in just everyday activities; that can already be enough to inspire me.”
Which material poses the biggest challenge for you?
“Chemical materials that aren’t good for the environment. I would like to replace those.”
When you dream about the future, what do you dream about?
“Then I dream that I am a well-known visual artist, who is asked to exhibit all over the world.”
How did you and Kees de Boekhouder meet?
“A friend of mine had a vintage shop and she recommended Kees de Boekhouder, because I had messed up my accounts. To me, Kees de Boekhouder means less worries about my administration.”
