Jolanda-Pieta (Joey) van Arnhem, M.F.A.

…drifter, hot walker, gardener, groom, educator, truck driver, secretary, computer technician, independent business owner, technologist, sign maker, waitress, cook, scholar, handy woman, artist…

I am an intermedia artist whose practice is based in A/r/tography, a lifestyle of living inquiry that lingers in the liminal spaces among a (artist), and r (researcher), and t (teacher).  I use visual, written, and performative processes as a living practice of art-making, researching, and teaching to forge connections and build community via both traditional and emerging forms of communication. My practice is built around a life of inquiry where conclusions are seldom found but searching and researching continue, allowing me to wear both the role of teacher and learner.  My art often explores representation in society and is rooted in questioning socially accepted practices and understandings and exploring visual culture. I often revisit themes of place, nostalgia, and the construction of self and culture. My process consists of archiving, collection, fieldwork and the use a computer as an instrument to combine and explore shared media.

These interdisciplinary strata of sculpture, drawing, digital imagery, music, sound, video and written text allows relationships to be made between media. This layering is frequently an iterative cycle.  The intent of this process is to question, present new understandings, broaden the language of artistic expression and consider the ways in which our multiple senses affect the way we experience daily life. My work encourages individuals to question their own practices, understandings, sense of identity and involvement with their community.  A common thread in my work has been the integration of technology, social media and traditional media to reach beyond the local community, to audiences both familiar and diverse and engage individuals from a network of communities. I hope that my practice of inquiry in our common experiences, vocabularies, and histories will contribute to a more humanitarian and tolerant society.