TyVert garden spheres
"He who plants a garden, plants happiness" is ancient Chinese wisdom. Our move from the hectic Dutch metropolis to the Breton countryside in France is accompanied by a green reset of the senses. Gardening in partnership with nature and the seasons is a vital life-source beneficial for body and soul. A green way of life rooted in the 'terroir', the natural cycles and the beauty of the imperfect. The garden reflects our eco-ideals and passion to ‘sensitively and slow’ create an earthly paradise. Enriched nature and wild life haven for its beauty and usefulness. The garden and we as gardeners breathe together and flourish in close communion over the years. The shifting play of light and shadow and the changing colour palette throughout the day and season offers ephemeral moments of visual magic. ‘TyVert garden spheres’ offers a pictorial account of the past year. In the accompanying 'TyVert blog', we describe our hands-on experiences. Both will be updated annually.
Hymn
'Hymn' is a dance with the earth's biosphere, our sacred and vulnerable home in a time of discontent. It focuses on the cross-fertilization between faith, culture, nature and art, with a refined sense of animated beauty and tactile detail. Viewpoints and insights from the makers, Erika Meershoek and Dennis Moet, and from the participants from diverse backgrounds complement each other. It descends into visual and verbal whispers, each with their own idiom and eloquence. The photographs give an insight into Breton places of worship and the spirited 'terroir'. The poetry is both highly personal and universal in nature. Presented in book form, the Hymn tableau highlights soul-stirrings, faith images and natural phenomena. The publication 'Hymne; levenstekens' is self-published in an edition of 100, size 15 x 20cm, 112 pages with an introductory story, 61 photos and 18 poems (language Dutch / Nederland's). The price of the book is 37.50 euros, including packaging and postage. You can order 'Hymne; levenstekens' via my contact form.
Floral
While studying ecology, I started photographing plants to learn how to identify native species and the conditions of their living environment. This has given me a greater eye for the sense of place and plants. 'Floral' zooms in on the unique form, structure and delicacy of single flowers in different stages of bloom, fresh and dried, from the TyVert ecological vegetable and ornamental garden; our green home base.
Flux
The place where we live, baptized ‘TyVert’, is bordered by a meandering brook called Le Léry. Located in the heart of the Côtes-d’Armor in Brittany, the brook is fed by numerous tributaries on either side of the leafy valley. Every corner is alive. The watercourse flows freely. The water level follows the rainfall pattern with a slight delay. It serves as an indicator of weather changes caused by climate change. In summer, the brook often runs almost dry; in the winter months, it regularly becomes a wild, broad torrent that far bursts its banks. The rising water comes and goes. Change is the only constant. ‘Flux’ is a visual storytelling of the changing moods of the brook throughout the seasons, of the surrounding vegetation and the distinctive cultural elements in the stream valley. Everything flows; everything is one.
Kind of Blue
'Kind of Blue' is a photographic beachcombing project at the Breton coast in France. A codification of the sense of otherness; the flux and spheres of the coastline teemed with life. The photos show intimate landscapes in combination with all kinds of 'object trouvé'; found objects of natural origin and rubbish of mankind washed ashore by the flood. An introductory essay, poems by Gijs Coffeng and by Erika Meershoek and a series of photo diptychs has been compiled in the book ‘Kind of Blue’. The publication is self-published in an edition of 200, size 17 x 24cm, 126 pages, softcover with yarn binding, language English. The price of the paper edition of 'Kind of Blue' book is 37,50 euros, including packaging and postage. You can order 'Kind of Blue' via my contact form.