This was my second self-initiated residency, combined with my WSET Level 3 wine course near Beaune, France. I had already visited Burgundy earlier in the year and was intrigued by local wine producers’ obsession with the concept of terroir. This idea was also part of my wine studies. Wine growing is based on the system of dividing land into plots for vineyards, and how soil, topography, climate, and wine making know-how work together. It became an inspiration for some new works.
I liked the idea of playing with the words terroir and territory, since territory has become an increasingly divisive concept geopolitically. Who owns what, what is allowed where, where the border lies, and who is allowed to cross it. It carries undertones of protectionism. In wine production, this is seen as good, a way to maintain quality and tradition, but protectionism over what is local, in a political sense, is highly controversial and divisive.
This did not push me toward political art, though. Instead, I found inspiration in strata: understanding the layers of soil and the layers of society, drawing on earth tones, and to depict the complexity of what people are concerned with today.