Othilia Verdurmen

I was born in Groningen, the Netherlands, in 1962. I grew up as the second daughter of a family with four children. I soon came into contact with textile because there was plenty of it lying about our house as a consequence of my father’s profession. Even as a young girl I had a strong feeling for the material because I believed that anything made of textile could not be broken and because I wanted nothing more than to act out my imagination with various fabrics. My mother had a whole chest full of cloths made of all kinds of fiber. Even her wedding dress was in this chest and it was subjected to a snipping session for a theatre play.
Sometimes my father arrived home with a suitcase from which a minor wonder would emerge. Suddenly the floor was scattered with samples, colours and patterns. Then the stories began. Distant journeys, other cultures, exotic food. In this way, a piece of cloth became the fabric of a story. Full of excitement and expectation I would touch it, as if I myself were also in that other world. Occasionally I would find a small error in the soul of the fabric, in the embroidery, or perhaps a slight colour deviation in the pattern. Human hands had made it. That fired the imagination.
I attended grammar school ...

-I went to the Academie voor Expressie en Communicatie (AVEC) in Leeuwarden in 1981.
- I had an internship at The Wuppertaler
Tanztheater of Pina Bausch in 1984.
- After graduating, I contacted the Pop en Spel Kollektief (Puppet and Play Collective), a professional theatre company. Yvon Hofer educated me in the practical aspects of puppet-making. I made costumes, decors and play figures.
- Since 1992 I work on my own projects.

2016
Januari 21st - June 6th exhibition 'Penelope and Ulyssis' at the Twentsewelle, Enschede.

2015
September 17th - October 30th photo exhibition at the Jan van der Togt Museum, Amstelveen(Amsterdam).

2014
The Phoenix in Kasteel Groeneveld in Baarn.

2013
'The Phoenix' is presented in Museum De Buitenplaats in Eelde.

Kunst10Daagse ( Art Festival) in Bergen in collaboration with the Museum Kranenburgh

2011
The Phoenix in a new concept for the Groninger museum. The exhibition was opened in January 2011.
It will subsequently tour the Netherlands and abroad.

2009
A large fire destroyed the studio of the artist, containing the almost completed Phoenix

2006-2009 ‘The Phoenix’
Development project entiteld ‘The Phoenix’ in collaboration with the Groninger Museum.

2006-2010 ‘The Secret Garden’
Commissioned by Kasteel Groeneveld, the Natuurmuseum Maastricht, the Environmental Education Centre (MEC) in Eindhoven and Natura Docet in Denekamp.

2005 - 2011 ‘The Dragon’
‘The Dragon’ is a permanent exhibition, commissioned by the Natuurmuseum Fryslân in Leeuwarden.

1999 - 2004 ‘Slip out of your Skin’
An installation, commissioned by the Natuurmuseum Rotterdam, Kasteel Groeneveld in Baarn and Natura D...