"I moved from Curaçao to Breda because I was looking for a new challenge. That worked out, especially in the field of art, sometimes it's not as easy."
This week Esther Didden is in Breda, in the studio of Carlos Blaaker. He was born in Suriname, studied in New York, lived and worked in Rotterdam for a long time, then lived and worked in Curaçao, and for the past year and a half Breda has been his home and workplace. He is a citizen of the world. Living in Curaçao has influenced his work. He lived in Willemstad, in the neighborhood of Otrobanda, a neighborhood of socioeconomic extremes, where many people live in poverty. He refurbished houses and properties there, including a bronze foundry. He took up sculpture and bronze casting, which he did not do before. He has since abandoned bronze casting; he still does sculpture. Looking back, he observes that the change of society, from Willemstad to Breda, goes much deeper than he initially thought and that it also affects his artistry.
"The beauty of spring in Holland is fantastic. I tried to paint that, actually as a way to make everything here part of myself."
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