In her Uprooted Series, Severijns seeks to explore the theme of displacement and how the stages of nature intertwined with the human conditions such as being uprooted, nesting, enmeshment, and revival. In the “Uprooted Series” Severijns depicts key elements of tension, separation, and isolation that express our fragility and vulnerability when uprooted. Uprooting is a multi-layered cyclical sequence of destruction and regeneration, the paradox of stagnation and the opportunity for growth.

Severijns feels a strong correlation between her work process and chosen theme: her hand-tearing technique functions as a metaphor for being torn away from all ties and belongings. The color used is often monochromatic – free of any symbol, association or values, much the same as the uprooted feeling of no longer belonging to one’s native cultural and emotional soil. While the labor intensiveness overlaps, the time needed to re-root in one’s new soil.

In the three artworks that are part of this Uprooted Series, “Tension & Chaos”, “Separation” and “Raveled”, the layered texture, created by wrinkled, woven and folded paper, along with the chosen color schemes aim to capture the global, regional and personal dimensions of uprooting.

For inquiries please contact the artist. Currently, these artworks are shown at the gallery of Siam Inspired Design, Herzliya Pituach.

Image courtesy: Sigal Kolton