︎︎︎‘Fadenlauf’ collaboration with Esther Brakenhoff, 2025 | artist in residence / open studio / exhibition @ De Fabriek, Eindhoven (NL)
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‘Fadenlauf’
Esther Brakenhoff & Maarten Schuurman
"It's light, comfortable, not too tight, and you don' sweat in it from the heat. You can go right through a fire in this thing, and no gas will penetrate it. It's even bulletproof, they say. Of course, fire, toxic gas, and bullets-these are only Earth perils. The zone doesn't have those; in the Zone you have other worries. Anyhow, truth be told, even in their spec-suits people drop like flies. On the other hand, without them it'd probably be even worse. These suits are completely safe from the burning fuzz, for example. And from Satan's blossom and its spit ... All right." | Roadside Picnic - Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, 1972
During the months July until October 2025 Esther Brakenhoff en Maarten Schuurman had a residency period at De Fabriek. During this residency, they built a screen-printing studio and sewing workshop, where they printed sewing patterns onto fabric and processed them into protective clothing. In their collaborative work, Esther and Maarten explore work processes and the concept of functionality. The design addresses one of the fundamental functions of clothing: protecting the body. However, "protective clothing" goes beyond the purely practical aspects of, for example, knee pads for a road worker or a firefighter's fireproof suit. Danger can come from many directions these days. The costume Esther and Maarten designed is therefore adaptable to an individual's perception of danger or threat. What do you want to protect or protect yourself against?
For the production of the costumes, Esther and Maarten also invited fellow artists Marcel van den Berg, Nishiko, Oscar Peters, Vincka Struben, and Joubin Zargarbashi to make their own costume based on our basic pattern.
BIO
Esther Brakenhoff and Maarten Schuurman are two visual artists who have worked regularly as an artistic duo since 2015. Their collaboration arose from a shared fascination with human interaction with the virtual and urban environment. How do we discover new places, how do we occupy space, how do we map space? Key elements are individual versus shared space and the transition from private to public space. Their work explores the micropolitics of space, political and economic systems, and their manifestations.
In their collaboration, Esther and Maarten are not individual actors, but work as a cooperative team with their own alter ego. They consciously break with the traditional concept of individual artistic practice, authorship. The collaboration is not simply a sum of individual contributions, but rather an exercise in communication. Knowledge sharing is paramount. The work begins with a concept or conversation. In developing this idea, they operate at the intersection of art, installation, and applied art. The works appear to have a function, yet are simultaneously autonomous. This apparent functionality sometimes results in the execution/eliciting of an action or performative action.
Special thanks to Make Eindhoven and Mondriaan Fonds for supporting the residency.
Esther Brakenhoff & Maarten Schuurman
"It's light, comfortable, not too tight, and you don' sweat in it from the heat. You can go right through a fire in this thing, and no gas will penetrate it. It's even bulletproof, they say. Of course, fire, toxic gas, and bullets-these are only Earth perils. The zone doesn't have those; in the Zone you have other worries. Anyhow, truth be told, even in their spec-suits people drop like flies. On the other hand, without them it'd probably be even worse. These suits are completely safe from the burning fuzz, for example. And from Satan's blossom and its spit ... All right." | Roadside Picnic - Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, 1972
During the months July until October 2025 Esther Brakenhoff en Maarten Schuurman had a residency period at De Fabriek. During this residency, they built a screen-printing studio and sewing workshop, where they printed sewing patterns onto fabric and processed them into protective clothing. In their collaborative work, Esther and Maarten explore work processes and the concept of functionality. The design addresses one of the fundamental functions of clothing: protecting the body. However, "protective clothing" goes beyond the purely practical aspects of, for example, knee pads for a road worker or a firefighter's fireproof suit. Danger can come from many directions these days. The costume Esther and Maarten designed is therefore adaptable to an individual's perception of danger or threat. What do you want to protect or protect yourself against?
For the production of the costumes, Esther and Maarten also invited fellow artists Marcel van den Berg, Nishiko, Oscar Peters, Vincka Struben, and Joubin Zargarbashi to make their own costume based on our basic pattern.
BIO
Esther Brakenhoff and Maarten Schuurman are two visual artists who have worked regularly as an artistic duo since 2015. Their collaboration arose from a shared fascination with human interaction with the virtual and urban environment. How do we discover new places, how do we occupy space, how do we map space? Key elements are individual versus shared space and the transition from private to public space. Their work explores the micropolitics of space, political and economic systems, and their manifestations.
In their collaboration, Esther and Maarten are not individual actors, but work as a cooperative team with their own alter ego. They consciously break with the traditional concept of individual artistic practice, authorship. The collaboration is not simply a sum of individual contributions, but rather an exercise in communication. Knowledge sharing is paramount. The work begins with a concept or conversation. In developing this idea, they operate at the intersection of art, installation, and applied art. The works appear to have a function, yet are simultaneously autonomous. This apparent functionality sometimes results in the execution/eliciting of an action or performative action.
Special thanks to Make Eindhoven and Mondriaan Fonds for supporting the residency.
invited artists :
Marcel van den Berg
Nishiko
Oscar Peters
Vincka Struben
Joubin Zargarbashi
support by:
De Fabriek, Eindhoven
Make, Eindhoven
Mondriaan Fonds
special thanks :
Koen Dijkman
Marjolein Ossewaarde
Ovidiu Spaniol
Alice Schiavone
Roy Voragen
download pattern :
pdf
Marcel van den Berg
Nishiko
Oscar Peters
Vincka Struben
Joubin Zargarbashi
support by:
De Fabriek, Eindhoven
Make, Eindhoven
Mondriaan Fonds
special thanks :
Koen Dijkman
Marjolein Ossewaarde
Ovidiu Spaniol
Alice Schiavone
Roy Voragen
download pattern :