Taking the World into Consideration-
A Conversation with Dutch Artist Jackie Sleper

Edward Rubin

Jackie Sleper’s work is characteristic of keen observation and reflects her study of cultures/traditions. Edward Rubin in conversation with the Dutch Artist .

In a highly unusual mixture of schooling, Utrecht-based artist Jackie Sleper studied at both the College of Agriculture and Horticulture (now Wellant college) and the Utrecht Academy of Visual Arts. While art school honed her technical skills, “farmer’s school,” as she likes to call it, taught her about the fragility of life, the sanctity of nature, and the importance of working with others to get the job done. It also informed the figures of humans, animals, birds, insects, flowers and plants, that populate her paintings, photographs and clay, porcelain, resin and wood sculptures. Sleper collects her works into highly theatrical, thematic exhibitions. Based on many trips to China, Mexico, and India, these exhibitions examine—often with an ironic, humorous, and surreal touch—the threads that connect people on a daily basis.

Edward Rubin: In lieu of attending a public high school, you studied for five years at the College of Agriculture and Horticulture. This is so unusual. Did you actually plan on becoming a farmer?

Jackie Sleper: No! But I also didn’t want to go to a regular high school like everybody else. I wanted to be free, outside, and on my own. When I first enrolled, there were 700 boys and me. I took all the courses offered in Land and Garden. This “farmer experience” taught me about life, the weather, the growth process, the cycle of life and death and the behavior of all kinds of birds, animals and insects. But the college wasn’t totally about farming. There was a full academic program.ER: You mentioned that at a very early age it was already obvious to you, as well as everybody around you, that you were born to be an artist. How did this manifest itself?

JS: I was the rebellious one in my family. I wasn’t content to sit see myself as an intermediary, a midwife. Sometimes an exhibition is triggered by an event. My mother’s death, which set me to re-think the boundaries of pain and suffering, resulted in “Black Jack.” It was only after visiting Mexico and seeing the joy and hardships that the people face every day that the title of “Dulce y Amargo,” which translates to ‘bittersweet,’ popped into my mind. It is the same with China. “Silent Whispers” refers to the country’s censorship.