We are excited to share that Noah Arends has joined Root Gallery!

Noah Arends is a visual artist whose work balances between stylish monumental objects and playful, characteristic images. At the heart of her practice lies the art of collage, serving as the foundational element of her creative process. From collected fashion photographs, Arends makes compositions, which are subsequently scanned, digitally edited, and printed on textiles. Finally, the naturally limp and shapeless prints are given (three-dimensional) form, transforming them into intriguing, vibrant artworks.

Interested to know more about the artist? Below you can read the Q&A that Root had with Noah. She shares insights into her practice, inspirations and more..

How did your connection with art come to be?

Quite gradually, I would say. I remember from when I was a child that I would wake up early and start my morning by gazing through magazines. I was also always crafting and making things together with my grandmother. She used to study fashion, so through her - without realising it - I developed an interest in textiles and fashion which gradually turned into a passion.

During high school I realised that I wanted to do something with art and that is how I gradually got more into it. In my gap year after high school I tried to figure out what it was that I wanted to pursue. Above all, I knew very well what I did not want to do. I could not see myself working a corporate job, stuck in an office. Yet, the art academy always felt somewhat far away for me. I couldn't picture what a profession in the arts would look like in the future, but it did appeal to me. It was one of those things that if I hadn't tried, I would have always regretted it. Once this became clear, I decided to sign up. Fortunately, I was accepted at the Hogeschool voor de Kunsten in Utrecht (HKU) straight away. To me this particular school had a very nice atmosphere and fit my previous experiences and preferences as it is smaller than most other art academies in the Netherlands. I needed that too, something more intimate and familiar.

When you started at the HKU did you already know which direction you wanted to go?

No, I really had no idea. I don't think that is a bad thing in itself, because you have to follow many different classes in the first two years anyway. Painting, sculpture, new media. I also appreciated being able to orient myself more and explore where my interests lie. However, I also found it challenging to structure these personal interests and to find out where they should be directed. In the third year at the academy something began to shift, and I was able to find my focus.

I always made collages just for fun. A teacher suggested to me to enlarge/print those collages and try to include them in my work. Though I really enjoyed experimenting with this, making collages alone felt too dull to me. I began looking at different workshops that the HKU offers and ended up at a textile workshop which allows you to work with giant printers with which you can print on textiles. Then the light bulb in my head switched on. This is for me: printing on textiles! Unfortunately, I was not able to develop this technique further in that period due to COVID and its resulting restrictions, but it is a technique that formed the basis of my artistic practice as it is today.

What sparked your interest in collage?

That actually started when I was younger, filling school diaries full of clippings and snippets from magazines. I don't remember how I came up with it, it just happened that way. When I look back at my old school diaries now, it becomes very clear that this is the period in which I started making these collages. I was given those magazines from my mom’s friend. She worked as a flight attendant and had access to a very large collection of Vogue- and other fashion magazines that were then passed on to me. At first, I went to read them, but quickly realised that what was written in them didn’t really interest me. I was more interested in the images. So, I cut out pictures of things I liked and pasted them in my diary, continuing this for a long time. Skimming through magazines, cutting out the things I like and then making compositions with them.

Tropic Odyssey - 175 x 145 cm, 2023
Click image to view more!

Do you use certain criteria to select images and photos from certain magazines for your collages?

Not really no. I use what I get my hands on. What is interesting is that these images can also be from magazines from 20 years ago, when the sense of fashion was very different from the current fashion sense. In my work, different trends, times and magazines are intertwined. I think now I do get inspiration from the current fashion trends, but the images I use come from different periods. Ultimately, fashion is also something that comes back. As you can now see with the Y2K trend, I also have those clothes and those images from magazines from 15 years ago.

If I would have to name the criteria for selecting images it would be whether I find a colour and/or shape interesting. This is completely based on a personal feeling. I have a huge image archive with all kinds of clippings. Of course, I can't use everything. Sometimes an image is of poor quality, or sometimes I like the shape but it doesn't fit in terms of size. In this case I can change it digitally. I then first make an analogue collage, after which I digitise it. This way I can play around with proportions and sizes. Recently, I started looking at digital images which makes the process easier in the sense that you can immediately determine the resolution of the image. On the other hand, it also makes it more difficult as you lose a sense of control. This sounds contradictory, but I like working analogue. Thinking and doing happen more simultaneously in this way. Also, online you have an abundance of images, while with a magazine you are limited to what you have in front of you making the selection process more natural and satisfactory for me personally.

How do you approach your working process?

I always start by scanning and skimming through a magazine. Sometimes I have a certain theme in mind linked to a location within a certain context. For instance, I was planning on going to Iceland. The blue, black and grey landscape was going to be the starting point for a new series. In this case I would select images by colour. Selecting images does not have to be bound by clothing. It can also be fragments from a landscape such as water. The process is very intuitive. I scan through those pages and tear out what I find interesting. From that pile of pictures I will neatly cut them out and sort them by colour. I then make compositions on an empty sheet of paper.

It can take a very long time before a composition appeals to me. Sometimes I throw everything together and make a digital scan. Digitally, I can play with the images and let the layers flow together, instead of them remaining flat. Like a painter would paint, I then digitally drag and drop images through each other. A time-intensive process that requires many moments of reflection. Taking a step back and looking again. Once satisfied, I print the newly created image on textile. Depending on the composition I make choices concerning the materials. Once that fabric is there, I usually stretch it like a painting and look for interesting lines that I can still manipulate by stitching, filling or making folds so that the image becomes more interesting and contains surprises. Sometimes a collage also translates into sculptures. Then, a shape is so interesting that I think it should be three-dimensional.

“Using fashion photography as an aesthetic tool creates a very interesting interplay. It is like the paint that I use for my work to create a new image”

— Noah Arends

What is it that draws you to textile?

What I find interesting is that many of the photos in those magazines once began with textiles. My work therefore goes through different layers. Different processes have a different 'skin' and appearance. There is a model who wears a piece of fabric and is shaped with it. A photo is then taken of this reconstructed textile, making it flat again. The photo is then printed on paper, making pixels visible. I then use that image for my work. I think it makes sense and is interesting to bring this image back into textiles. In addition, textiles can be manipulated; it only takes shape when you put something into it. A human action. This manipulation is also reflected in various parts of the production process.

Has your work developed in a different way than you originally envisioned?

Yes, I would say my work has become more and more abstract. At first, human forms could also be recognized in the compositions and collages that I created. Women in magazines are often depicted in an alienated way. I was previously occupied with this idea of alienated beauty and looked for my own vision on this concept. So, I started working more and more abstractly and ultimately ended up solely using shapes, colours and structures in my work. This continues to be a strong interest of mine, the connection between these concepts and fashion photography. Over the last years I have found more direction in my practice which allowed me to develop my own visual language. To further specialise in the materials and techniques that I work with I completed a tailoring course. Working with textiles, it felt like a necessary step to educate myself on the possibilities of textile and to be able to shape the material to my own liking. It has truly become an extension of my art practice.

What would you like to convey with your work?

Mostly, I want my works to attract. They must have an aesthetic power or appeal. What I find interesting about fashion photography is that it revolves around selling a product. The resulting imagery is all very aesthetic and focused on the viewer's eye. By taking it out of that context it retains that aesthetic. Using fashion photography as an aesthetic tool, actually as a separate art form, creates a very interesting interplay. It is like the paint that I use for my work to create a new image.

Beyond attraction, I also want spectators to be a little surprised; there are hidden secrets in my work that bring a certain artisanal layering. Some seams are stitched by hand, or filled in certain areas making a work less two-dimensional. Above all, it makes it look nice. As the works are quite abstract, explaining exactly what I want to say with it becomes more difficult. This also varies per series. Sometimes, my work can be seen as a landscape to get lost in, and other times, it takes on a distinct shape or structure. I enjoy when people connect with my work. 'What do I see?' You can see whatever you wish to see in it.

A glance into the world of Noah Arends