Info INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………………………………………… My name is Su Tomesen, I am a visual artist based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. I will describe my course of life briefly, because I have “another backpack” compared with the artist who graduated from the art academy. In 1994 I graduated from the University of Utrecht as a cultural historian. I worked as a researcher and director of television programs in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. In 2000 I started my company Su Me Productions. With my own video camera and editing computer, and in association with some young emerging artists, I began to make artistic works, mostly focusing on the media video and photography. I have grown rapidly as a self-taught artist. In 2003 I was accepted at the fine arts department of the Sandberg Institute in Amsterdam. This is the Masters education of the famous Gerrit Rietveld Academy. Although video and photography are still my main media, I have also begun to develop installations, interventions and performances during my education at the Sandberg Institute. The education program is set to two years; in 2005 I left the institute. At the end of 2007 I finally finished my thesis The Traveling Artist and became a Master of Fine Arts. I use relevant parts from my thesis to tell you about my work. TRAVELING AND STAYING ABROAD…………………………………………………………………………… Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind. (Seneca) Ideas for new works often do not come into existence in my studio but on location, especially when I travel. I reflect on my own culture through experiencing other cultures. I prefer cities to do that. In the thesis mentioned above I partly compare my work with that of the Belgian-Mexican artist Francis Alÿs, whose working area is the city too.   Observing other cities and cultures, and gaining experiences from residing in these different parts of the world, is essential for my work. I consider my journeys and stays “mini residencies”, in which I try to get in touch with the culture and the local art world. Impressions, meetings, and events lead to change or progress in my artistic work. In the course of the years it has become natural to work when traveling. I have built an international network, in which my work found a way to screenings and exhibitions in various places in the world. The way I travel and work, fits an era in which the world became smaller through globalization and the Internet. In previous years I was invited twice to make new work on location, both times in Belgrade, Serbia. In Japan I filmed parts of a documentary. Independently I traveled short and long periods to several continents, and together with the Rietveld art academy I went to Azerbaijan, Iran and Armenia. During all these trips I take my video and photo camera with me. Often a journey leads to new works. I either travel with a plan or concept (Japan, Brazil) or I work with in a more intuitive way on the spot, arriving there with the intention to grasp material for a new piece (NYC, Cairo, Cuba, Albania). Sometimes I accidentally discover something fortunate, while looking for something else entirely. I have also given video workshops to young people of 12 up to 20 years assigned by The One Minute foundation or Unicef. The last two years I worked in Bulgaria, Ireland, Lebanon, Jordan and Spain. I gave lectures about the concept of The One Minutes in São Paulo and visited hot biennales and exhibitions in Istanbul, São Paulo, Kassel, Münster and Venice. After these turbulent years I wanted to reflect on where my work stands. For this I used my thesis about The Traveling Artist. ARTISTIC AND SUBSTANTIVE CONCEPTS IN MY WORK…………………………………………………… In my work as a visual artist I take my background as a historian and researcher with me. My work balances on the edge of art and life. Foreign cultures, people’s behavior, and the design of public space are of my main interest. Sometimes a trip to another country is like a time warp to a time imagined lost. My background leads to socially engaged videos, photographs and installations. The style of the videos and photos is documentary. The installations originate from the context of the exhibition or from the location. Where am I during the making of a video or photograph? What issues are current? What is the context? And -if clear already- in which show is the video, photograph or installation exhibited? Is interaction with the audience possible or necessary? These questions lead to what I call “temporary obsessions” that focus my glance. Researching the location, situation and Zeitgeist are of fundamental importance for realizing my work. For me the attitude when making work is important. The exchange of ideas is a key point. I like to talk with people. Curiosity is my engine and motivation. Next to a critical approach of people I have a generous one. I have experienced that with a generous approach that people are more receptive. We can learn from each other about the human existence. It’s important to work with confidence and commitment as a starting point. Conversations with people are the basis of a large part of my work. I teach myself the basis of a language. It helps me with getting in contact with people. Right now I am in a group of four artists developing a multi-media exhibition space in a neighborhood in Amsterdam. In this area there live a lot of different nationalities. I know Spanish and some Arabic and Turkish, which makes “step # one” easier, and more fun as well! My goal is to share my work and visions with others. The situations or people whom I observe in public space make me reflect on the organization of a location or culture. I isolate an aspect from reality and document it on video or photo in a certain frame and/or edit it in the computer in a certain way. Doing this I try to make my audience look different upon the original situation, or upon the situation or stereotype in an unfamiliar country. Reality is transformed because of the framing/editing. I have a pallet of key ‘moves’, actions and styles, that I use in order to translate my vision or experiences into a work. My main themes are repetition, paradoxes, humor and the re-cycling of icons and symbols into a different context. I frequently make loops of my video work when the piece is exhibited as a video installation. Reality is documented and looped, making the event both tragic and comical at the same time. Repeating the scene turns reality into absurdity.  Su Tomesen Amsterdam January 2008 Thank you for helping me translate: Maaike van der Linden