Pleun Moons (1993) is a chef and an artist. When she moved to the village of Sibbe in the province Zuid-Limburg, she had a garden for growing vegetables at her disposal for the first time ever. “I felt I needed to do something with that garden, with eating, and with painting.” In the month of May the land yielded enough produce for her to organize a harvest fest. The dishes she prepared with these vegetables were laid out on a linen tablecloth that people could eat off. The vegetables left marks on the tablecloth, random patterns that Moons added her own, painted variations to. The ink she used was made from plants from the same garden. While the stains represent the harvest and the conviviality of eating together, Moons’ own additions are the result of an intuitive working process.
At Prospects Moons is showing Reclaiming the Land (2023), a winter version of the aforementioned principle. In February not much is growing on the land, and therefore her paintings are accompanied by dried flowers, plant residues, and everything else that can still be found in a winter garden. The presentation is thus a reflection on the seasons.
“I’ve been doing a great deal of thinking about cycles. While working on the land I noticed that growth and decay, life and rest all go hand in hand. This gave me a feeling of acceptance, the same acceptance that prompted me to take random shapes left by a harvest meal as the point of departure for my paintings.”
Text: Jorne Vriens
Translation from Dutch to English: Marie Louise Schoondergang