Academy award Art & Design 2013 Zwolle

With my graduation project, a research about identity and authenticity of human beings, I won the academy award! More about the project here.

Jury report
The visual work of Willemieke is all about having value, giving value and using the space around it. The starting point of her research was the fact that she felt at home in and around the house of her grandparents. Seemingly meaningless belongings are of great value for Willemieke.
On the other hand, she signalizes her own generation living faster and faster and having a different way of using their belongings, appearing much less personal. This made her aware of the term “identity” and the impact belongings, location and environment have on identity. Identity carefully built in layers, spaces or zones, And so the question arose: What do you expose from your identity, when and to whom?
Willemieke’s design-based research is a response to our increasingly impersonal and fast-paced culture:

‘Life is not only about the parties and nice stuff we post on Facebook. I want to show real people, in their own environment and with their own personal story.’

We nominate Willemieke because we admire her way of ‘intensely’ introducing Dana, Cees and Jan, accessible to anyone. Identities in different layers analyzed and derived to personal things, your public space, acquaintances, friends, good friends, life-partner and the intimate space. Also, she used and applied the graphical expression skills and media in such a beautiful way. For this she used the means of a book, which she uses in such a way that it becomes an absolute advantage. It is innovative, autonomous, personal and poetic.
By linking to the NAI, it also has a publishing effect and gives it a museum-like character. Hands and feet. And that is special.