UNTITLED3

by Ymke Hemminga.

Ymke Hemminga (1974) was born in Waddinxveen, a village of Benoni-esque boredom in the Netherlands, she spent years thinking whilst cycling, drawing, dreaming of uninterrupted horizons, and writing, padded with a fair amount of faffing.   After traveling, studying fine arts in SA, studying creative- and play-writing in Amsterdam, she landed in South Africa permanently in 2003, where an uninterrupted horizon was found on a smallholding in Boschkop east of Tshwane. 

Scratch the Surface/Ymke has been illustrating and writing freelance since 1999, the keyword here is analog! Un-photo-shopped pen and ink scribbles often accompanied with long limbed, poetic cursive writing.  

What inspires you?

All absurd and beautiful aspects of being human: People and their ornaments and inventions. That there are people out there dedicating their lives to inventing ‘rubber-pet-brushing-gloves’ or saving whales or being Nelson Mandela or Paris Hilton. Human beings seem to be the kings and queens of distraction from the dazzling responsibility that we humans, as opposed to say a Cocker Spaniel, can think, feel, speak, laugh and choose.

I’m always trying to find the humor in mundane daily acts, like doing dishes and groceries. I Collect moments, items that evoke a grin or a giggle. I take laughing very seriously; I think it’s all we’ve got to rise above ourselves, to connect and evolve and to keep going on without becoming cynical. 

Contact Ymke at ymke74@gmail.com.