duologue

Tjitske Oosterholt is an Amsterdam based artist and designer, who playfully combines analogue and digital techniques, resulting in an array of tactile prints, unique paintings and designed objects. In her work there is always an interplay between being in and out of control – giving herself the space to discover new techniques along the way. She found similarities in the way of working with Megan Leber, a Rotterdam based producer who drags you deep into a dark ocean of ambient soundscapes, profound basslines and airy percussion sequences. Together they present their collaboration project for Duotoon called: A Space made of Granules

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Tjitske: Megan is constantly experimenting and developing, playing around with different sounds and trying to go against the stream. I think there’s a very similar mindset, and her music feels very naturally connected to my own. I feel like with Megan it’s all very much about just creating, always trying something new and just doing it. I’m very much the same, I make because it’s what I have to do, and I’m always trying to challenge myself and find new things.

I’ve always loved working for and with musicians, there’s something very intuitive about how many musicians work, and I feel there are so many parallels to my own methods. My work can also be seen as visual soundscapes, so participating in Duotoon made a lot of sense to me! 

I love how Megan’s work is so spacy, you can really get lost in her soundscapes. There’s so many layers to her piece and there’s an amazing flow, which makes me feel like being drawn into something. You know, kind of like an endless loop of going into space, passing by the stars and continuously entering new realms. 

Megan: Tjitske is not afraid to try new techniques or materials and you can see that in her work over the past few years. Her work speaks to me because she creates this “space” to get lost in and it’s very open to interpretation. In that, I can see similarities with my music, as I also create an atmosphere where the listener can get lost in their own imagination.

Megan: Every artist works in their own way, but there are always similarities between how a visual artist thinks or works and how a musician/producer thinks or works. And I think that has a lot to do with a certain mindset artists have. That to me is so intriguing! 

We both didn’t have a strict plan or any specific “rules”, other than to react to each other’s work by following our intuition and to just go for it. What do you see or hear and how does that make you feel? What comes to mind when you let intuition take over? We sent work back and forth, starting off with Tjitske creating a visual start of our project. Each time we reacted with something extra that the other could elaborate on, this way it really felt like a collaboration!