Artist in residence: Jasper Rouwen

Artist in residence: Jasper Rouwen

Jasper Rouwen joined us as Artist In Residence back in May. He’s now returned to SpudWORKS in Sway, with his New Forest inspired exhibition titled ‘Friends Are Forever…’ 

Bio
Through painting, video, and installation, Amsterdam based artist Jasper explores the human desire for control and its impact on love and connection. His work investigates how our need for security, order, and safety shapes our ability to connect with others—too much control leads to stagnation, while too little invites chaos. By looking at themes like animal domestication, regulatory signs, and landscape modification, Jasper creates works that question the cycle of control and invites viewers to interpret these symbolic moments. His pieces serve as traces of mystery, offering new ways to understand our relationship with control.

Q: How did your residency in the New Forest shape your approach?
Jasper: During my residency, I observed many moments that highlighted the boundaries between the domestic and wild, public and private, strange and mundane. From dogs chasing me off-leash to the interactions between ‘wild’ and domestic ponies, these experiences deepened my understanding of how nature and human life intersect in the New Forest.

Q: Now that you’ve completed your works, do you have any further reflections or has anything surprised you?
Jasper: Although I believe I’ve discovered a lot, I don’t kid myself that I’ve uncovered everything the Forest has to offer, nor do I think that’s possible or even desirable. The New Forest seems to be defined by our human attempts to understand and control it. Yet somehow, it manages to resist and continues its own mystery—a non-linear vacuum for others to enter and interpret. It interrupts the cycle of questions and answers, appetite and satisfaction.

Q: What themes are you exploring in your exhibition?
Jasper: The exhibition explores the tension between control and chaos. I was fascinated by how the Forest manages to maintain its mystery despite our human attempts to manage it. It’s a place shaped by both natural forces and human intervention, and my work tries to reflect this paradox. For example, I witnessed the Verderers monthly meeting to discuss forest offences and Commoners’ livestock, while traditional coppicing techniques encourage tree growth. These practices represent our effort to control the forest, but it still resists, retaining its untamed essence.

Q: How do you think visitors will feel when they see your work? What would you like them to gain from it?
Jasper: In my work I use signs and symbols to communicate. These are gathered from my observations in the New Forest. By isolating these symbols from their original context, I free them from the meanings traditionally attached to them, allowing new interpretations to arise. I think visitors will feel like they’ve entered an ‘uncanny valley’—they’ll recognize the imagery, but see it in strange, unfamiliar ways that could change their understanding. Ultimately, I’d like visitors to become ‘data-gatherers’—unraveling the mystery of the work, following clues, and reaching their own unique conclusions.

‘Friends are Forever’ will be running from 2 – 30 October 2024 at SpudWorks in Sway. 

Find out more about Jasper here.

Find out more about the New Forest National Park Artist in Residence programme here.