Erfgooiers

Somewhere in the Fall of 2019, the Board of the Dooyewaardstichting invited me to be an artist-in-residency in the former workshop of Piet Mondriaan in Blaricum in ‘t Gooi. This residency became effective in October and lasted till the end of February. Searching for inspiration and subjects for a project, I found a different kind of ‘traces” and started documenting them. Traces of a community of farmers and landlords which lasted one thousand years, the “Erfgooiers”. Literally, the heirs of the Gooi region. This community existed from 968 till 1979, just over a thousand years. The members of this community were the rightful owners of the rights to use and exploit the fields and meadows. This ended because of developments during the 20th century when cities and villages needed the space to build houses and offices. However, there I found several heirs of the former members. And still living and working in their original farmhouses.