This is a project I made for a solo exhibition in the church of Zuiderwoude. I started making sheep drawings in ink and charcoal just before I was invited, and they seemed perfect for this rural village. I filled the whole church with sheep paintings, making the visitors feel like like they're in the middle of a flock. The fact that these were all made in the middle of corona times with social distancing as the new normal, made me think more about the basic need of all herd animals (including people) for physical closeness and touch. Sheep will always flock together if they feel threatened.

I painted my own Zwartbles sheep, as well as the sheep that live on the dyke in my village and some others I came across. Working with ink gives me freedom to work quickly and to experiment with backgrounds (or a lack of them). The large format (most paintings are 2 meters wide) make you look the sheep right in the eye.