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Attractive and repulsive, familiar yet strange. Suzanne Plomp (1994) is captivated by contrasts in nature: soft organic lines colliding with underlying tensions, or insects that provoke aversion while their mechanical structures simultaneously fascinate. In Plomp’s work – which encompasses pencil drawings, textile sculptures and installations – she allows these contrasts to merge into wondrous, lush bodily tissues that evoke an almost physical tension. They are grim and tender at once. For Plomp, the plasticity and mutability of the body are essential: ‘It shows how life continually rearranges itself – in the visible, the hidden, and the twilight zones in between.’
For Substantia (2025–2026), Plomp was inspired, among other things, by the harmony of altarpieces. The work is rooted in anatomical research she conducted across various scientific collections, including that of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden. She studies the anatomy of various specimens, ranging from centipedes and leopards to the human body.
In Substantia, these images flow into one another. The kidneys in the central panel, for instance, are transformed into cockroaches – both are associated with purification – while a centipede crawls up a hand like a gleaming ornament. Everything appears to be in constant motion. The magical realist atmosphere is intensified by the more-than-life-sized scale, as the highly detailed fluorescent images emerge from the darkness. By taking a seat on the accompanying bench, viewers are invited to contemplate the work and fully immerse themselves in it.
Written by: Esther Darley