Grieving Letters to a Shed has been a research project on neglected and decayed
spaces, their physical presence in our environment, and the emotions they evoke
within us. Within the decay lie lessons on grappling with a loss of human control.
When chaos begins to overpower our ability to control, our instinct tells us to leave.
From that moment on, these places collapse, get overgrown, and create spaces
where nature can reclaim them. Fascinated by this “choice” of being in control or
letting go, I looked into Gilles Clement’s Garden in Movement, where he was guided
by his ethos of achieving maximum impact with minimal intervention.
In the process of creating and contemplating, I found myself experiencing
different kinds of emotions towards these decaying environments. Should I feel joy
witnessing nature reclaim or sorrow at the loss of value attached to these places?
To express these feelings, I wrote different letters to a nearby shed, known as the
Schepemans Timmerloods, each one a reflection of the stages of grief.
Juliët Nijland
The first letter through the stage of Denial.
Juliët Nijland
The second letter through the stage of Anger.
Juliët Nijland
The third letter through the stage of Bargaining.
Juliët Nijland
The fourth letter through the stage of Depression.
Juliët Nijland
The fifth letter through the stage of Acceptance.
Juliët Nijland
The last letter, signed with my own name, as a roundup of this neverending proces of feelings.
Juliët Nijland
Me reading the last letter at the Playgrounds Exposition of the Pre-Master on the 31st of March.
