More about Jimmy
YOUTH
I went through a particularly tough time in foster care and fell behind considerably in life, living with permanent physical and psychological injuries. The Dutch government abandoned me and ensured that my experiences never received publicity or justice. The cost to my gender, identity, origin, and individuality was immense after so many years of systematic violence, humiliation, confinement, and oppression. However, the most affected was my creativity. Creativity has everything to do with spontaneity and action. Even though I am now free to create, I felt deep blockages for a long time, and creativity did not come easily. All my spontaneity and daring to express something was gone.
As a child, I had a lively imagination, though all expression and creativity was strictly forbidden. I armed myself against the outside world by living in my own worlds, where there was humanity and existence. During the long periods in my schoolboy period when I was forced alone in complete darkness, I conceived means to let my mind exist: I envisioned colors before my eyes, which danced and took me along, bringing life to my world. I lived in other worlds with others within myself, so everything still felt a bit nice. That is being creative—creating something out of nothing. So I knew I could do it, even though it wasn't allowed.
CREATIVITY
In 1992, I started drawing and painting. At first, I mainly drew portraits of babies and toddlers, offering me a safe world where smiling faces did me well. However, events triggered memories from my past, and I began painting almost day and night for two years, creating about 450 oil paintings. My work was direct, rough, and unusual, and when I tried to exhibit it in 1997, it was refused for being too 'confronting and shocking.' In 2002, the entire collection of approximately 450 pieces in oil paint and pastel was destroyed.
Two years later, I found my creative spark again and expressed myself through nature art, weaving, digital art, and glass or mosaic sculptures.
ARTISTIC JOURNEY
In late 2019, I felt the need to choose a path and chose art for a creative life. At the art academy in Belgium, I learned techniques and studied art history, discovering works by Van Gogh, Van Schiele, and other famous and lesser-known artists. I started visiting art museums and exhibitions, learning from the freedom others had to express delicate subjects.
Slowly, I freed myself and searched for my style and what I wanted to create. But who was I?
Now, I create new work almost daily. After making hundreds of works in various techniques and themes centered around identity and young boys, I wanted something new. In addition to collaborating with the creative littles, Tim and Alex, I decided to apply interdisciplinary mixed media as process-oriented art: the path to a work is important to me. What steps do I take? Which materials and technology do I use? It keeps evolving, and I'm on my way. While others may soon retire, my life as an artist is just beginning, and it feels like my life has finally started in my true gender, leading to liberation, discovery, and development.