Interview with MICHELLE PIERGOELAM
Michelle Piergoelam (b.1997, the Netherlands) aims to show different perspectives on myths, dreams, and memories. In her photographs, references to traditions and dreamlike sceneries intertwine to make for a new reality. Her work also contributes to a cultural awareness by addressing both culture and history from an alternative perspective.
In ‘Maktub’, Piergoelam reflects on her grandmother’s idyllic and often reoccurring dream: it is a sunny day and grandma is facing a cosy house, having a river snaked around it. However, every time she enters the house in moments of high tides, something negative would occur in the following days…
Could you please explain to our readers the meaning behind your title ‘Maktub’?
Maktub means “it is written” in Arabic. The title is named after Paulo Coelho’s book ‘Alchemist’ which unravels a story about signs in life.
Not much later after reading the book, my grandma told me about her reoccurring dream. I remember her saying “Michelle, this dream is trying to prevent me from something.” But what if this dream wasn’t trying to protect her, but instead was trying to tell her something? What if this dream was a hint? I’ve always wondered about dreams, as sometimes you dream about realistic things that happen in daily life, but in some rare dreams you find yourself in a different world where weird and unusual things all come together. This makes me ultimately wonder about their underlying message and meaning.
Darkness plays an important role in your imagery. Besides evoking a nocturnal atmosphere, does it function on any other level?
In this project, darkness plays a role in the sense that my grandma’s idyllic dream is a very light sunny dream and absolutely non-threatening, however, in the repercussions it has a very dark meaning. In general, I’m always seeking for mystery in darkness. Additionally, cultural mythical stories, where I get a lot of my inspiration from, often have a reference to magical appearances as well that are associated with and come into sight at night.
Your photographs linger somewhere between reality and fiction, just as your grandmother’s dreams. Would you say that dreams are capable of intervening in reality? And did you yourself have any similar dream-like experiences?
I wouldn’t say that dreams intervene with reality, however, your subconscious is strongly able to mirror your mind and thoughts. I haven’t had dreams like the one my grandmother had, but sometimes when I’m in the middle of a project I have many dreams from which new ideas arise.
In general, the themes of alternative realities and imagination tend to occur in your work. Why did you decide to work with these concepts specifically and do they fulfil your artistic curiosity?
In my photography I always seek for the imagination evoked by stories. Despite my Surinamese background, I knew nothing about that culture. The fact that there is a truth hidden in a lot of cultural stories like fairy tales and myths, is what triggers my passion for them.