Interview: Db Waterman
Luca Curci talks with Db Waterman, one of the winners of ARTIST OF THE MONTH – MAY 2021.

My formative years as an artist were spent studying at the Art Academy in Den Bosch, NL. Today, I regard myself as self-taught, having developed my own distinct style out of the untraditional medium of collage. I assemble original photography, assorted papers, acrylics, oil, charcoal, ink and pencil in my works. The variety of resources I am able to use has proved indispensable to me. The biggest challenge the collage medium posed was its unforgiving lack of transparency. Finding a way to replicate the effects of transparency afforded by paint, especially water colors, was “a large victory” for me. The preparing labor shows through in my collages; layer upon layer of material remains visible in the finished pieces. I believe my body of work is characterized by my skill for reinvention. Having always loved the appearance of weathered walls plastered with peeling paint and old posters, I revive this aesthetic with hopefully a keen and professional eye. The creative objective of my work is to “make something beautiful out of dilapidation.” My tableaus explore the dissonance between old and new materials, intertwined in the most beautiful possible way to create dreamlike and melancholy images.aterials in careful compositions that I pride for their storytelling ability. Kids inspire me. Their ability to transcend any given rotten situation is astounding. Playing tag in the ruins of a bombed Syrian city. Playing football in the most miserable neighborhoods. They are always looking for the light. They will save the future that our generations have really messed up, not even blaming us for it. If we only could keep the kid in ourselves a bit more, we wouldn’t be in such a mess. Art can help us to re-find our childlike innocence

LUCA CURCI – What is art for you?
DB WATERMAN – I never started with art. It was always there. I breath and live art. I guess I am dominated by the right hemisphere of my brain. I think mostly in images, so art is a natural extension of what I am anyway. I work always, everywhere. On weekends, vacations. I am always busy collecting impressions and color combinations. Even when I watch TV. It is not actually working, it is just my life, my way of being.

LC – What are you currently working on?
DW – At the moment I’m working on two different things: a new series in which children are again central, but this time in a different setting. Nature versus the emerging city/industry. Second, a series of works on paper especially for Muriel Guipin Galerie in New York

LC – What’s your background? What is the experience that has influenced your work the most?
DW – My formative years as an artist were spent studying at the Art Academy in Den Bosch, NL. Today, I regard myself as self-taught, having developed my own distinct style out of the untraditional medium of collage. I assemble original photography, assorted papers, acrylics, oil, charcoal, ink and pencil in my works. The variety of resources I am able to use has proved indispensable to me. The biggest challenge the collage medium posed was its unforgiving lack of transparency. Finding a way to replicate the effects of transparency afforded by paint, especially water colours, was “a large victory” for me . The preparing labour shows through in my collages; layer upon layer of material remains visible in the finished pieces. I believe my body of work is characterized by my skill for reinvention.

LC – Which is the role the artist plays in society? And contemporary art?
DW – The question of what art means touches the essence of our existence and is of essential value for the resilience of society. Cultural awareness is becoming an important condition for every individual to be able to move in an increasingly diverse society. Being actively involved in art and culture offers children, young people and adults opportunities to shape their own position in the world, their relationship with others and with society and thus their identity. People can shape their identity through cultural participation. This leads to deeper questions about art and meaning and questions about the meaning of art and cultural-historical artefacts for the way in which people relate to the world.

LC – Did your style change over the years? In which way?
DW – About seven years ago I started my search for a completely new way of working. Until then, I had always been busy making paintings on canvas or paper, with acrylic paint or watercolour paint. Since I could no longer afford expensive materials, I had to make do with the leftovers I had left. But I really wanted to make art and I wanted to find my own way of making this at all costs. I looked around for all kinds of scraps of paper, magazines, newspapers, images and other materials that I could still use. It made me remember that as a young girl I loved to cut out pictures and pictures from magazines to stick on books, diary and even my room door.

LC – How do you choose your subjects? Is it a reasoned or an instinctive process?
DW – Having always loved the appearance of weathered walls plastered with peeling paint and old posters, I revive this aesthetic with hopefully a keen and professional eye. The creative objective of my work is to “make something beautiful out of dilapidation. “My tableaus explore the dissonance between old and new materials, intertwined in the most beautiful possible way to create dreamlike and melancholy images. Kids inspire me. Their ability to transcend any given rotten situation is astounding. Playing tag in the ruins of a bombed Syrian city. Playing football in the most miserable neighbourhoods. They are always looking for the light. They will save the future that our generations have really messed up, not even blaming us for it. If we only could keep the kid in ourselves a bit more, we wouldn’t be in such a mess. Art can help us to re-find our childlike innocence.