In the summer of 2020, the stone inner garden of Rijksmuseum Twenthe was transformed into a green workshop for artists. In the spring of 2022, we will extend this 'green lab' to the rear of the museum, where, hidden among the oak trees, there is an old Twente farmhouse and a large garden that has fallen into disuse. RMT has asked artist Elspeth Diederix to make a new design for the back garden, to breathe new life into this area and make it accessible to the public again.
In 2020, the paved courtyard garden of Rijksmuseum Twenthe was transformed into a green workplace for artists. Starting in the spring of 2022, we will expand this "green lab" to the back of the museum, where hidden among the oak trees is an old Twente farmhouse and a large garden fallen into disuse. RMT has asked artist Elspeth Diederix to create a new design for the back garden, to revitalise this area and make it accessible to the public once again.
Sottobosco
Because of its location between the trees, Diederix soon decided that part of the garden should become a real shady garden. In doing so, she drew inspiration from the 17th-century forest floor still lifes from the collection of Rijksmuseum Twenthe. The painters of these so-called sottobosco-telescences focused their attention on life low down to the ground, under the trees. They painted insects, butterflies and coloured flowers that stand out against the mostly dark backgrounds. In her design for the Sottobosco Garden, Diederix also creates a contrast between the brightly coloured flowers and the dark surroundings.
Elspeth Diederix, sketch design Sottobosco Garden, 2021
Nourishment for art
The Sottobosco Garden doesn't stand alone, but is also the nourishment for new work by Diederix. In recent years, Diederix has been making many photo series with flowers in the leading role. These beautiful and often surrealistic photos took as their starting point her own garden (The Studio Garden) and the public garden she laid out in Amsterdam's Erasmus Park (The Miracle Garden). The photographs she will make for the Sottobosco Garden will be the focus of Diederix's solo exhibition at Rijksmuseum Twenthe in the summer of 2022.
Elspeth Diederix, Miracle2 #01, 2019
About Elspeth Diederix
According to Elspeth Diederix (1971), the world is of infinite richness. It is the core of her artistry to show this richness, the beauty of nature and of ' the things'. She does this by looking at her photographs and searching for the moment when everyday phenomena lose their familiar appearance and only then become truly visible. Diederix studied at the Rietveld Academy and the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, and recently took a course in horticulture.
Elspeth Diederix, beplantingsplan Sottobosco Tuin, 2021
The Green Lab
After Claudy Jongstra and Christiaan Zwanikken, Elspeth Diederix is the third artist to be invited by Rijksmuseum Twenthe to participate in The Green Lab. The Green Lab is a programme of RMT with a central role for the museum gardens, which function as green workshops for artists and the public. Artists can grow flowers and plants in the gardens that serve as material or raw material for the art and the public can participate in a variety of workshops and activities.
