Studio BAST (Tanja Isbarn/Sipke Kingma) develops spatial interventions and works that cross disciplinary borders, such as visual art and architecture
The first work launched in a semi-public space, is called ‘De Verderkijker’ (Dutch for ‘The Far Viewer’), august 2025.
On an ecological collective agricultural land in Drenthe, NL, three positions are combined into one installation. Visitors are invited to step on/into the ground and explore the landscape and the earth unfolding before their eyes, using a magnifying glass and self-designed binoculars as supporting tools.
Studio BAST balances the act of intervention without adding unnecessary materials, focusing instead on relevant issues in contemporary agricultural practice. How fruitful is the soil that appears after descending 1.20 meters into century-old farmland? How important are paradigm shifts concerning food cultivation and consumption?
reaction by dutch artist peggy geway (groningen based)
‘Leo en ik zagen de expo bij de Herenboer. Wat een bijzondere bijdrage hebben jullie geleverd en zo leuk dat Sipke en jij hebben samengewerkt.
Je vroeg aan een ieder om aandachtig naar de plek te kijken. Ik zag: twee biddende valken in de lucht en een kever met een goudkleurig schild. Leo zag het hoopje zand onder het graafwerk van een insect in 1 van jullie kuilen.
Verder nog deze gekleurde bladeren. Er was wind en zon.’
‘Leo and I saw the exhibition at De Herenboer. What a remarkable contribution you made, and how wonderful that you and Sipke collaborated.
You asked everyone to look closely at the place. I saw two falcons praying in the sky and a beetle with a golden shield. Leo noticed the small pile of sand from an insect’s digging in one of your pits.
And then there were these colorful leaves. There was wind and sunshine.’
17.09.2025
The status quo of the work is stable. Compared to the installation in August, the layers of earth are now visible in different tonal variations. The walls of the work appear more compressed, likely due to the wetness of the soil following recent rainfall. Flora is beginning to subtly take over the space.
There are six binoculars and five magnifying glasses available for visitors at the information table.
02.10.2025
The deinstallation and filling of the art work was executed in less than an hour. The passage of time has left distinct traces, iwth clear dmarcation lines visible in the different layers of soil. These were particularly pronounced in the third position of te enxemble. As one member of Hof van Rhee expressed “the art work was given back to the land”.
