I am on my way to Sarah Rose Guitian Nederlof to speak to her during the last week of her working period at Witte Rook. Sarah welcomes Special Database me with a cup of black coffee, made with a vintage Solac espresso machine. We are in her temporary living room, dining room and bedroom, on the first floor of the building, a former residence. “It took me almost two months to make this space feel homely and 'own',” Sarah quickly tells me. She also calls herself The Detail Hunterand that is clearly visible here. Everywhere and nowhere there are carefully placed objects, hanging texts, post it's with keywords and all kinds of research material.
At first I realized how important it is to get to know the space before you can feel comfortable in it. The room has to get used to me and vice versa. By adding small elements to this space, it finally feels a bit like home. They are objects in which I recognize a feeling of comfort: from a plastic pencil holder to a special stone or books that I have read several times. All these elements contribute to the frantic attempts I have made to appropriate the space. We succeeded: here everything can just be there without it having to become something right away.