Can you tell us how the “sense of belonging” theme became a common thread in your projects?

It took me many years to figure out where I belonged, after leaving my very intense, close-knit family home. My grandmother was French, my grandfather and great-grandfather and mother were nomadic and had grown up in a European circus, my father and uncle were classical musicians, and my Scottish mother was a textile artist. We lived in Holloway, London, and I went to the local school. Very early on, I realized that the children at school had a completely different family life than me. I tried so hard to fit in, but I always felt like an outsider. At home, however, I felt loved, belonged and felt very safe. Once I left the house, I had to search for my own sense of “belonging” for a long time. I tried to replicate the sense of family that I had loved so much, but eventually I realized that wasn't what I was looking for. I believed that belonging was one definite thing, probably due to underlying conditioning by education and society, but in reality, belonging is individual and doesn't have to be what you think it should be.

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NDSM is an ever-evolving place with an existing community and new communities that are constantly growing.

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Finally, 20 years after leaving home, I discovered what it meant to me. For me, that was having space and freedom to express myself and be in a relationship where I'm embraced and encouraged to be myself. I need to be loved and have someone to love, but I realized I don't need that by being a mom, which is a big step for a woman to admit that to herself.

Once I understood what feeling at home meant to me, I set out on a mission to discover what it means to others and how understanding the complexities of feeling at home can bring communities together.

What do you think this theme means in a dynamic place like NDSM or Amsterdam-Noord?

NDSM is an ever-evolving place with an existing community and new communities that are constantly growing. By doing the workshops, I gained insight into different perspectives. It was clear that some people saw change as a threat and others saw it as an exciting future. From an outsider perspective, it felt very important that all groups spoke to each other and began to see what the possibilities could be as soon as they began to understand each other.

You did workshops with individuals from Amsterdam (North) as part of the project. How did these workshops influence the development of the artwork?

By listening and understanding different points of view. All the phrases and words used in the installation come from the words people wrote down in the workshops to express how they feel about what's happening, how they'd like to see the future, and what feeling at home means to them. Seeing the energy and creativity in the workshops was incredible. All participants were fully engaged and wanted to share their thoughts and opinions. There was a passion for living in a developing place and they were part of that evolution. Living in a place where they experienced huge changes and learned how to deal with them. Some people weren't too happy and wanted to be heard, while others wanted new things to flourish.

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Belonging can be very fluid and different for everyone, but at the same time a collective experience.

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The workshops brought out a lot of feelings, passion, joy, anger, questions, discussion and emotion. Some stories were about the past and some were enthusiastic about the possibilities. Great personal events were shared and together, an image was formed of a new strong community. The poet Mahat Arab summarized this perfectly in his poem that resulted from these conversations.

“(Leave) Space for Space” aims to create a sense of belonging within the community. How do you see the artwork promoting connections and resonating with the people, both residents and visitors to NDSM?

I hope that the words and phrases that came out of the workshops and now adorn the installation resonate with the community and passers-by. The words are exactly as they were written in the workshop. It's important to me that when I create a collaborative installation, participants can recognize themselves in it and that they feel a sense of ownership and belonging.

Having worked with many communities around the world, I always feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to sit with people and listen to their stories. I'm always impressed and grateful how generous people are with their thoughts and ideas and how much they enjoy sharing and wanting to be heard. I often feel humbled to be just part of the process. Looking for belonging is so important in people's lives. It is not fixed, it is individual. You can find and lose belonging, or choose to look for a different sense of belonging at different points in your life. Feeling at home can be very fluid and different for everyone, but at the same time a collective experience.