
idiots
education
1999 – 2003 Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam
exhibitions
since 2003
awards
2010 Absolute Vodka Talent Award, Amsterdam, NL
2003 Marzee Graduate prize, Galerie Marzee, Nijmegen, NL
2002 Design prijs, Textiel Museum, Tilburg, NL
collections
private collections
CODA Museum, Apeldoorn, NL
Fonds national d’art contemporain (FNAC), Paris, FR
Art collection AkzoNobel, NL
Museum Arnhem, Arnhem, NL
National Museum for Achitecture and Design, Oslo, NO
De Nederlandse Bank kunstcollectie, Amsterdam, NL
about the work
fable-like
My ambition is to daydream, where are the thresholds of fantasy? Each truth is being colored through fantasy. I try to tell stories with my sculptures. And there is always a ambiguous emotion present: sad and beautiful at the same time. I use animals as human characters, the same as the characters of a fable or fairytale. My sculptures are made out of real animals combined with other materials like glass, silver, textiles and embroidery. The work is often multidisciplinary but always covers one theme or storyline. The relation between reality and fantasy is a question that I work with.
Stories, fairy tales, myths and fables, give us guidance for life. They can connect different cultures, and provide context. A framework reference in which differences can be bridged by shared stories. I write modern fables with my sculptures. Animals act as protagonist, as human characters. The materials, in combination with the animal, often portray an emotion or situation. For example: glass, it is transparent fragile, blown in the form of a rib cage stands for the fragility of life. The viewer and the space finish the story and create the context. The images are a frozen moment in the story.
The main theme is the fear of loss and destruction of nature, and therefore ourselves. And the marketing of everything, even the sun, for profits.
afke golsteijn
galerie-door-idiots-gans
Idiots (Afke Golsteijn, Floris Bakker), Grey Goose, 2018, necklace, taxidermy goose, clay, photo: courtesy artist, courtesy Galerie Door – (SOLD)
galerie-door-idiots-gans-wings
Idiots (Afke Golsteijn, Floris Bakker), Grey Goose, 2018, necklace, taxidermy goose, clay, photo: courtesy artist, courtesy Galerie Door
galerie-door-idiots-gans-en-ei-2018
Idiots (Afke Golsteijn, Floris Bakker), Oyster, 2018, necklace, taxidermy goose, glass, iron, photo: courtesy artist, courtesy Galerie Door
galerie-door-idiots-amazones-ganzenveer-rond-2018
Idiots (Afke Golsteijn, Floris Bakker), Mayor Grey Goose, 2018, necklace, taxidermy goose, clay, photo: courtesy artist, courtesy Galerie Door
galerie-door-idiots-gans-2018
Idiots (Afke Golsteijn, Floris Bakker), Grey Goose, 2018, necklace, taxidermy goose, clay, photo: Doreen Timmers, courtesy of Galerie Door – (SOLD)
galerie-door-idiots-2017-odd-couple(saw beak duck)
Idiots (Afke Golsteijn, Floris Bakker), Odd Couple, 2017, necklace, taxidermy Mergus merganser (head and wing), clay, leather, photo: Afke Golsteijn – backside necklace
galerie-door-idiots-2017-odd-couple
Idiots (Afke Golsteijn, Floris Bakker), Odd Couple, 2017, necklace, taxidermy Mergus merganser (wing), clay, leather, photo: Afke Golsteijn
galerie-door-idiots-necklace-I-earned-my-wings
Idiots (Afke Golsteijn, Floris Bakker), I Earned my Wings, 2013, necklace, taxidermy bird, glass beads, pearls, textile, photo: courtesy artist, courtesy Galerie Door
galerie-door-idiots-necklace-dubbel
Idiots (Afke Golsteijn, Floris Bakker), I Earned my Wings, 2013, necklace, taxidermy bird, textile, photo: courtesy artist, courtesy Galerie Door
galerie-door-idiots-industrial-evolution-III
Idiots (Afke Golsteijn, Floris Bakker), Industrial Revolution III, 2009, object, taxidermy bird, forged iron, textile, embroidery, silk, beads, 25 x 20 x 20 cm, photo: Afke Golsteijn
galerie-door-idiots-2018-fake-evolution-IIIaa
Idiots (Afke Golsteijn, Floris Bakker), Fake Evolution VI, 2018, object, taxidermy bird, glass, iron, 50 x 60 x 30 cm, photo: Afke Golsteijn
galerie-door-dermatologisch-getest-2003
Idiots (Afke Golsteijn, Floris Bakker), Dermatologisch getest, 2007, object, taxidermy rabbit (waste from meat industry), silk and/or pearls, wood, photo: Afke Golsteijn
galeriedoor-idiots-bunny-collection-2012-2013-I
Idiots (Afke Golsteijn, Floris Bakker), The Bunny Collection, 2012-2013, necklace, taxidermy rabbit (waste from meat industry), brass, felt, silk, beads, 380 x 270 x 70 mm, photo: Afke Golsteijn
galeriedoor-idiots-bunny-collection-2012-2013-III
Idiots (Afke Golsteijn, Floris Bakker), The Bunny Collection, 2012-2013, necklace, taxidermy rabbit (waste from meat industry), brass, felt, silk, pearls, 410 x 270 x 100 mm, photo: Afke Golsteijn
galerie-door-idiots-walking-over-someones-back
Idiots (Afke Golsteijn, Floris Bakker), Dorothy (Walking over Someone’s Back), 2007, object, taxidermy cow skin, shoes, photo: Afke Golsteijn
galerie-door-idiots-last-hunt-2009k
Idiots (Afke Golsteijn, Floris Bakker), Last Hunt, 2009, object, fur, glass, taxidermy mouse, photo: Afke Golsteijn