IPaintMyMind Exclusive Interview: Handiedan

Whether stamps, currency, sheet music, or playing cards, Handiedan layers texture upon texture, creating a uniquely symbiotic mix of dilapidation. There’s a sense of history, or a weathered feel to her collages, informed by her knowledge of photographic design and an attraction to the tattered edges of remnants. She’s made her name in Europe, and has shown stateside at Phone Booth Gallery in Long Beach, Black Book Gallery in Denver, and most recently at Roq la Rue Gallery in Seattle.

Her aesthetic melds iconic symbols and serves as a remix of simpler quantities whose combination render much more than it’s single parts ever could. With scissors and occasional “digital wizardry” Handiedan aka Hanneke Treffers, guides the viewer into a Baroque atmosphere, accented with classicism and cleavage, dollar signs and stirrups. The sexualized side of it is portraiture reconfigured, as glamorized style and feminism intersect differently for every viewer. Rugged and refined, classic and modern, Handiedan’s collages constitute a brand new category of cohesive. They are style, epitomized.

If you’re an artists who wants to get involved with IPMM, submit your artwork here. We’d love to get to know you and maybe even feature you in an interview of your own.

IPMM: Thanks for doing the interview! First off, we’re interested in the modern art scene in Amsterdam. What are the pros and cons of the art climate there?

Handiedan: My main orientation is abroad. I dont want to make a solid statement about the art scene here in The Netherlands… The evolotion of art and the constant shifting of what’s hot and what’s not fluctuates. 

I would say, come over and experience it for yourself.

IPMM: Are you originally from Amsterdam?

Han: I’m originally from a small town in the southern part of The Netherlands. About an hour drive by car from Amsterdam.

IPMM: We’re more and more amazed when we find people like yourself who simply live creatively in tons of ways. Your site features your illustrations, photography, and collages, which we were more familiar with… does one take precedence for you?

Han: The pin-up collages are most important to me personally. They contain all my visual fascination and techniques. Drawing and doodling clears my mind and photography is my passion when I travel. These days for me, photography is a visual diary of the things I experience and the places I explore. I absolutely enjoy capturing the little found treasures that present themselves.

IPMM: Awesome! Yea, as we mentioned, we first saw your collages which incorporate a wild range of materials. How’d you come to use everything from paint to rusty metal?

Han: I have a great fascination for graphic elements and ornaments that tell a story. The history behind the ornamentation and materials, from old currency, documents, sheet music and old books have an originality combined with history. The elements and ornaments I use are woven in cultures, have a tale of their own, and are a part of history that can go back centuries. They both have a history and a tale that can be revealed or analysed in their own way. The two live together, both then and now. The diversity of materials provide a creative oasis for me to dwell in.

IPMM: I like that. There’s a strange sexuality to the work too, although, I have to say, the textures imparted (even on the prints) are what visually attracted our eye initially. But after looking closely, the pinups seem even more classic when clouded by things like sheet music and wood. How do the pin – up girls or gender, play a role in the work for you?

Han: I believe that Vintage pin – ups these days have a more aesthetic appeal. My collage art radiates classic sexiness. The use of vintage materials, the suggestiveness, and the way I portray the female form, strengthens the historic story of femininity. The tenderness they portray and the strength they radiate combined with collage materials makes the image complete, and is very fulfilling to me. A constant search of what I want to say with a image, with just the right balance is essential.