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From parasol stands to wheelie bins, Wouter van der Giessen (1995) draws inspiration from everyday, iconic objects. In his sculptures and drawings, he plays with recognition and estrangement: what at first glance appears to be a bicycle rack turns out to be made of foam ‘pool noodles’. Within this tension between the familiar and the strange, Van der Giessen seeks to evoke a childlike curiosity in the viewer.
At Prospects, Van der Giessen presents Mijn emoji (My Emoji, 2025), which consists of twelve colourful panels. He used a multitool to engrave drawings into acrylic sheets, before filling the carved-out spaces with epoxy in the colours red, yellow, blue and green. Based on emojis he shared on his private Instagram account over the past year, the drawings refer to moments in his personal life, ranging from confrontational conversations during a holiday with a friend to the first week with his puppy. Each image tells a small story, but also conceals something. What begins as a personal experience is translated twice (first into an emoji and then into a drawing) opening up multiple interpretations and associations.
Together, the drawings form a personal, semi-abstract diary: a year in icons. With this work, Van der Giessen examines how we communicate through icons, and how something as seemingly universal as an emoji can acquire intimate meaning. The work marks a phase in which the artist explores a new balance between work and private life. Through his playful visual language, he suggests that being an artist is about more than making art alone; it is about life itself.
Written by Sarah van Binsbergen