‘Het leven van een aardappel’
The life of a Potato

2023
Location: Van Goghhuis Zundert

Installation from April–September 2023)
Garden Residency of the Van Gogh House

“For seven months, Noortje de Brouwer used Vincent van Gogh’s birthplace as her canvas. Inspired by the book Voyage autour de mon jardin by Alphonse Karr, recommended by Vincent to his brother Theo, Karr writes letters to friends describing the observations and adventures in his own garden.

For Van Gogh, the potato symbolized the hard, honest life of farmers. Building on this idea, De Brouwer focuses on the potato, collecting 146 different varieties. The project began with a ‘pootbijeenkomst’ (potato planting gathering), where participants were invited to come together and plant the potatoes one by one.

Throughout the growing season, a diary was kept for each plant, and several gatherings were organized to collectively care for the garden. This ultimately resulted in a diverse harvest, which gave rise to a series of potato dinners.”

Potato library, 2023