The Centre photographique Rouen Normandie regularly organises residencies in the region. Each residency is an opportunity to invite an artist to look at an aspect of the region that may echo the issues and questions at work in his or her personal research. Knowing the work that Marleen Sleeuwits has been developing for over ten years, the art centre invited her to examine the local architectural heritage, an environment characterised by its historical depth and typical character. The first step was to situate the artist, who is used to working in unconventional locations in the service sector.
In order to determine the feasibility and confirm her interest in the residency on site, we invited her to make an initial reconnaissance so that she could identify the area in which she would like to work. Marleen Sleeuwits visited a number of medieval and Reconstruction sites. During this first visit, she developed an interest in materials from the Middle Ages – particularly Seine stone. The residency was therefore divided between periods of shooting in Rouen (and even in the Seine valley) and experimentation in the artist’s studio in The Hague. The works produced during the residency are exhibited alongside older works, selected for their similarity or dissonance.
«When I first visited the city of Rouen, I was captivated by the many historic buildings. The famous reliefs on the outside of the cathedral intrigued me, as did the timber framing that covers and structures some of the medieval houses. I was also inspired by the fragility of the limestone from which many of the buildings are made. In these places and through their materials, the signs of time are immediately perceptible.
I was struck by the signs of time perceptible on the skin of buildings in particular and decided to investigate more deeply the erosion of the interior and exterior of the city. In my work, I’m interested in the type of materials we surround ourselves with. What kind of skin is this place made of? What kind of setting do we live in? It’s both visual and theoretical research.»
