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50hz conference call focuses on temporality of acoustic ecologies of a place. Part of a research project Some places only exist through voices, the project focuses on the importance of hearing. To hear, we must listen. While landscape is often described as visible features of an area of land, sounding becomes essential in re-constructing these temporalities where over time things change and get lost - and which these sounds inhabit. The contrast in between the constructed landscapes and nature can be realised how birds are inhabiting the electricity lines. As not fully becoming a part in the electricity circuit, the birds use the power lines to seek rest, shield and to get a point of view. The adaptation occurs on these electricity lines, as the birds use them as some sort of replacement for trees; It becomes their momentary ‘seat’. While these landscapes change, the nature that surrounds it does too. Since nature doesn’t respond to symmetry, it forms a polyphonic score of the present. Finally ‘having seat at the table’, the 12 conference speakers transmit the body of the birds. Their sounds, communication- and alarm calls forms an asymmetric score of their sonic qualities, which introduces as what joy and urgency sounds like at the same time. Site-specific focus in The Netherlands, the audio consists of Amsterdam wildlife footage and field recordings made in Moordercht, which is one of the last places in the Netherlands where wooden electricity poles run energy.
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Scores sourced from the jumps at women’s free programmes of top 10, during Beijing 2022 Olympics. The music score consists of the tiny second moment when the competitioner’s jump lands and the blade cuts through the ice - that is where the pitch is recorded. Each jump they performed during the performance is recorded from the archive of the Olympics. By watching closely these footages of such a highly competitive sport, and interpreting it into strict notation, it questions how such as beauty, competition, calculativeness, motion manipulation and restrictions are seen in our society through sports and movement. Accordingly, the music notation interprets the duration and precision of the programme, by making scores out of the jumps and rests from the in-betweeen time of the jumps. The temporality of the present is translated into musical score using musical notation as a way of writing data. ‘Triple axel is difficult. You try it anyway - it brings a better score. ‘
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Scores sourced from the jumps at women’s free programmes during Beijing 2022 Olympics. Gold, silver and bronze; set of three miniature rinks in the miniature size of the original competition figure skating rink. Creating scores out of the placements of landing of the jumps. Supporting the first part of the installation, where the scores were written from the moment when the blade cuts through the ice into a musical composition score.
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Self published artist book/research paper, about Hydrosphere, conceptual displacement, Social geograpy, hydrofeminism, and acoustic ecologies.
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Part of HetResort Midseason exhibition at Bowlingcenter Groningen
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re-shapable sound installation based on phatic phrases Spatial installation consisting of syllables from phatic utterances like ‘hear from you soon’ , ‘see you soon’ , or ‘let’s get a coffee sometime soon’, it forms an abstract score of these rhytmic phrases without a necessary bond for authenticity. These phrases are actually left in an open space as surface-like gestures. Each sentence listed on the floor, it forms a tactical code for phrases that don’t necessarily mean anything to the one who receives them. Accompanied with a hollow sound loop of generated recordings of clapping rhythms of these sentences, it loops in the space with reverb, activating these white wooden blocks to be the scoring for this composition. As an activation to the installation, uppest three rows of these phatic utterances of the installation were re-formed each day of the duration of the exhibition , based on the phrases heard in the audience. If there was no new phatic phrases, no new row were formed.
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A site-specific installation in the former surveillance room of U.S Embassy 8 hand-cut and carved glasses with business ID’s of U.S based companies called North Star (Polaris) and UV protected film covering the whole surveillance room. 802755589 26784490 543009892 companies in U.S cyber security ; Insurance ; investments ; engines & Batteries. Investigating the contrast between success-seeking-development industry and astrology as understanding nature.
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made together with Baroeg Mulder for the duo-exhibition Phatic Utterances in Antwerp
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Time and site-specific light installation/intervention on a ruins of a shed Focusing on the essence of source (sunlight) rather than the expectation of aesthetics. The myth about Phoenix goes, that they carry 7 halos on top of their head. According to the geographical features of Northern Portugal, which is known for its cork trees. The cork oak (quercus suber), is native to the Alentejo and is one of the most common tree species in Portugal. Forest fires occupy Nortern Portugal yearly, in which the cork trees are the only ones rising back up from the ashes, by their unique material of outer layer, cork, being a insulating material. Geographically being on-site near Coimbra, reacting to the action by referring to the Greek mythologies of Phoenix, the bird who is ‘immortal’. Associated with the sun, a phoenix obtains new life by rising from the ashes of its predecessor. made in series on Ponte d'arte residency
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temporary intervention on a former abandoned gas station on-site research on geographies and living ecosystem of cork trees, and their ability to re-grow after yearly forest fires. 1cm layer of ash that involves burnt cork from these ‘fire proof’ trees is distributed on the roof of the empty gas station as a performative act, as a temporary ritual. made in series during ponte d'arte residency in Portugal
Websites
Social media
Curriculum vitae
Education
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2023 - 2023In Situ3 Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerpen (KASK)
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2020 - 2024Bachelor Fine Arts Den Haag, Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten diploma
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2019 - 2020FineArts pre-bachelor studies FAS, Helsinki
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2010 - 2019Pop & Jazz Conservatory Helsinki
exhibitions
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2025'A Big Stitch' Studija Space Kuldiga, Latvia Solo
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2025now-soon-later a_milli_space Reykjavik, Iceland Group
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2024DeWaasstraat Nap+ Fair Amsterdam, Netherlands Nap+ Art Fair young talent section DeWaasstraat curated by Jade van Doesburg, Benjamin Carels and David Kloosterboer www.napplus.nl Group
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2024Between The Lanes Bowlingcentrum Groningen Groningen, Netherlands Group exhibition end of HetResort Midseason 24' curated by Daphne Verberg. Participating artist: Çisil Deniz Delibalta Frans van Hoek Heidi Holmström Maïa Taïeb Ster Borgman Sverre van der Velde This exhibition is the result of midseason, a three-month programme in which emerging artists were supported in their development. Discover how curiosity, dialogue and competition have led to a multitude of works that will make you reflect and rethink a world you may have thought you were already familiar with. hetresort.nl/midseason-24.html Group
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2024Eindexamenshow KABK Royal Academy of Arts The Hague (KABK) Den Haag, Netherlands Graduation show part of FineArts graduating class of 2024. graduation.kabk.nl/2024/heidi-holmstrom Group
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2024'meander' Billytown Den Haag, Netherlands It meanders. And if it doesn’t it will. The blood crawls where it cannot go, right? And so it bab- bles. /// If an artistic practice is flexible and fluid and curious, and it often is, you could compare it to a stream of water that meanders. And the pebbles in that stream could be little ideas that get picked up along the way and with every bend they get polished and with every turn they change shape. Then an exhibition could be one of those corners where these particular stones come together and people that are curious could come there, step into the stream. 'meander' was a group exhibition by Heidi Holmström, Tijn Gerards, Baroeg Mulder, Elvira Pereira and Frans van Hoek. Exhibition was facilitated by Heidi Holmström & Tijn Gerards artviewer.org/meander-at-billytown/ Group
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2024A letter from A friend Bacio Collective Bern, Switzerland Group
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2023'Yes Chance' KASK Antwerpen Antwerpen, Belgium A group exhibition at KASK Antwerp as an end for performance course held by Yuki Okumura. Group
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2023Everything That Grows Underground West Den Haag Den Haag, Netherlands www.kabk.nl/agenda/third-year-fine-arts-students-present-spring-show-everything-that-grows-underground Group
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2023‘a missing kind of orange’ curated by Elisa Verkoelen Dambruggestraat 356, Antwerpen, BE Antwerp, Belgium Group
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2023Phatic Utterances Dambruggestraat 356, Antwerpen , BE Antwerpen, Belgium duo-exhibition w Baroeg Mulder Duo
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2023Hortus Conclusus KASK Wintertuin Antwerp, Belgium Group
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2022The World, The Now, The End Æden II Berlin, Germany Curated by Council+ Group
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2022Mmmmmmmmmarshmallow Cube Exhibition Research LAB, Prinsessegracht 4 Den Haag, Netherlands Group
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2021Solar Fiction: In the Dazzle of Infrastructure Galleria Aarni Helsinki, Finland Curated by Aalto ViCCA Group
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2021Bulevardi 31 Project space ‘Academy of Boulevard’ Bulevardi 31 Project space Helsinki, Finland Group
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2020FAS annual exhibition Galleria Vaaga Helsinki, Finland Group
Projects
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2024
50Hz Conference Call Nap + DeWaasstraat Amsterdam, Netherlands heidiholmstrom.com/50Hz-conference-call 50hz conference call focuses on temporality of acoustic ecologies of a place. Part of a research project Some places only exist through voices, the project focuses on the importance of hearing. To hear, we must listen. While landscape is often described as visible features of an area of land, sounding becomes essential in re-constructing these temporalities where over time things change and get lost - and which these sounds inhabit. The contrast in between the constructed landscapes and nature can be realised how birds are inhabiting the electricity lines. As not fully becoming a part in the electricity circuit, the birds use the power lines to seek rest, shield and to get a point of view. The adaptation occurs on these electricity lines, as the birds use them as some sort of replacement for trees; It becomes their momentary ‘seat’. While these landscapes change, the nature that surrounds it does too. Since nature doesn’t respond to symmetry, it forms a polyphonic score of the present. Finally ‘having seat at the table’, the 12 conference speakers transmit the body of the birds. Their sounds, communication- and alarm calls forms an asymmetric score of their sonic qualities, which introduces as what joy and urgency sounds like at the same time. Site-specific focus in The Netherlands, the audio consists of Amsterdam wildlife footage and field recordings made in Moordercht, which is one of the last places in the Netherlands where wooden electricity poles run energy. exhibited part of Graduation show 2024, as well as DeWaasstraat at Nap+ in september 2024.
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2024
Scores on a cold ground & Blade pitch scores Billytown Den Haag, Netherlands heidiholmstrom.com/Scores-on-a-cold-ground-1-2-3 Inspired by the jumps executed during the women’s free programs at the Beijing 2022 Olympics and displayed at Billytown in The Hague, the piece features three miniature ice rinks and a series of notational scores derived from these Olympic performances. By translating the physical movements of skaters into a musical score, the work transforms something inherently non-musical into a playable composition. The piece critically examines the intense, often hostile nature of high-performance sports like Olympic figure skating, questioning whether there is truly any "freedom" in the so-called free programs. Focusing on the precise moment when a skate blade cuts into the ice—creating a sharp scratch on its surface—the artwork emphasizes the meticulous calculation and pressure underlying the sport. In doing so, it brings attention to the immense psychological and physical strain athletes endure, framing the act of skating not just as an athletic feat but as a form of calculated precision under extreme stress.
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2023
Polaris Museum West, Den Haag NL Den Haag, Netherlands heidiholmstrom.com/Polaris A site-specific installation in the former surveillance room of U.S Embassy 8 hand-cut and carved glasses with business ID’s of U.S based companies called North Star (Polaris) and UV protected film covering the whole surveillance room. 802755589 26784490 543009892 companies in U.S cyber security ; Insurance ; investments ; engines & Batteries. Investigating the contrast between success-seeking-development industry and astrology as understanding nature. Activating the former surveillance room of the U.S Embassy, The light shimmers and the windows are dark. Polaris is put under surveillance 46 times larger than the sun It forms a navigation system on the North sky universal symbol for many Metaphor for guidance, navigation and success locked inside surveillance (since the roads are ruff and the streets are narrow these days) The light shimmers in and the windows are dark Name of multiple companies in the U.S, cyber security, insurance, investments, engines, batteries and motorcycles, 02-0634020 13-3863788 20-0840108 20-1006705 But what happens when the sky is grey you can not see or navigate where to head then? Belief polarisates door points to North The structure eats the light Bare eyes lie: 3 stars instead of one Almost stationary “the star that sits still” Still moves Comprehensive facilities on belief systems Projections on behaviour Stationary for navigation Aesthetic of purpose Metaphor for success ‘I can not see the stars from the basement”
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2023
Instead of cigarettes I buy translucent tableware Dambruggestraat 356, Antwerpen, BE Antwerp, Belgium heidiholmstrom.com/instead-of-cigarettes Scent installation parfyme, hand carved domestic glass plates, steel kitchen hangers. Alcohol based parfyme made based on Elisa Verkoelen’s poems on word ‘orange’ for a group exhibition context specific for the word Orange. (Perfume instructed to be sprayed during the exhibition on the cracks of the plates every other hour.) Perfume ingredients: 55% scrubbing alcohol, 1% soaked cigarette butt liquid, 3 drops rose water, 2% cinnamon oi, 4 drops musk oil the goal was to create a bitter scent without using any citrus fruits, definitely no orange. part of group exhibition ‘ a missing kind of orange’, curated by Elisa Verkoelen, Dambruggestraat 356, A
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2023
Hear----from----you---soon---- Phatic Utterances duo-exhibition w Baroeg Mulder, Antwerp, BE Antwerp, Belgium heidiholmstrom.com/hear-from-u-soon "Hear----from----you---soon----" is a spatial installation that explores the rhythm and emptiness of everyday phatic utterances—phrases like "hear from you soon," "see you soon," or "let’s get a coffee sometime soon." These common, often insincere exchanges form an abstract, fragmented score that resists authenticity or deep meaning. The phrases are scattered across the floor, arranged as surface-level gestures, creating a tactical code for words that may not carry any real significance for the recipient. Accompanying the installation is a loop of hollow sounds generated from recordings of rhythmic clapping patterns that correspond to these phrases. The sound reverberates through the space, activating the white wooden blocks that serve as both a visual and auditory score for the composition. This interplay between sound and structure highlights the disconnect between form and meaning. As part of the installation’s dynamic process, the top three rows of phatic phrases were re-formed daily during the exhibition based on phrases overheard from the audience. If no new phrases were heard, no new row was added. This evolving structure reflects the constant flow of surface-level communication while emphasizing the transitory, often inconsequential nature of these interactions.
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2023
7 Halos Ponte d'Arte Residency Coimbra, Portugal heidiholmstrom.com/7-halos "7 Halos" is a time- and site-specific light installation/intervention set within the ruins of a shed in Northern Portugal. Rather than focusing on aesthetic expectations, the piece explores the essence of its source—sunlight—as a primary element of transformation. Drawing inspiration from the myth of the Phoenix, which is said to carry seven halos atop its head, the installation references the natural and cultural landscape of the region. Northern Portugal, known for its cork oak trees (Quercus suber), is annually ravaged by forest fires. Yet, these unique trees rise resiliently from the ashes due to the insulating properties of cork, which protect them from the flames. Situated near Coimbra, the piece responds to this local context by drawing a parallel with the Phoenix myth—a symbol of immortality and rebirth. Just as the Phoenix is reborn from the ashes of its predecessor, the cork trees too find new life after the fires, embodying a cyclical process of destruction and regeneration. The installation captures this idea of renewal, using light to evoke the presence of the sun and the life-giving force it represents.
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2023
Temporary placement Ponte d'Arte Residency Coimbra, Portugal heidiholmstrom.com/Temporary-placement Temporary intervention on a former abandoned gas station. On-site research on geographies and living ecosystem of cork trees, and their ability to re-grow after yearly forest fires. 1cm layer of ash that involves burnt cork from these ‘fire proof’ trees is distributed on the roof of the empty gas station as a performative act, as a temporary ritual.
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2022
Shiny metal ribs/Underwater archives/Maritime stretch Council + Berlin, Germany heidiholmstrom.com/shiny-metal-ribs-Underwater-archives-Maritime-stretch Smaller ribs - bigger waves. Rib jewellery. Maritime bubble archeology; treasures are kept underwater, storage space guarded by fishes, accompanied by interplay of watery bodies. Back stretches of divers in the red sea, surfaced low level dive, like metallic ribs on the roof. Generally fish 64% water, human 60%. In the waters of the Earth, keeping treasures on the bottom of the sea, while we float on the surface. Shore-based viewers, 34m above sea level now. Activities on terrestrial and aquatic levels, representing moment in time rather than slow deposition of the material. As shore based viewers, 34 ribs = 34m above sea level now in Berlin. Installed in space in which 60-64% are occupied with stainless steel loops. Part of group exhibition ‘The world The Now The End’ curated by Council+, Berlin (GER)
International exchanges/Residencies
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2025Studija Space Kuldiga, Latvia One month long (January 2025) AiR-Programme, solo. www.iktsite.org/news/creative-residency-at-studija-space
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2025SÍM residency at SÍM, Iceland Reykjavik, Iceland Selected group residency for 2 months (Feb-March) at SIM. Funded by Nordic Culture Point. on-the-move.org/news/sim-residency-2025-artists-nordic-baltic-region-iceland
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2024HET RESORT Groningen, Netherlands HetResort Midseason 24' is a talent programme for starting artists based in the Netherlands. Funded by Mondriaan Fonds and Gemeentje Groningen. hetresort.nl/index.html
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2024Listening Biennale Berlin, Germany Listening Biennale was international workshop/residency week at Flutgraben in Berlin, including 40 sound artists worldwide. listeningbiennial.net
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2023Ponte d'Arte Coimbra, Portugal Group residency at Ponte d'Arte at Ponte da Mucela, in Portugal. www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=ponte+d+arte&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
Publications
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2024Water Wings; Topophilia towards the surfaces Book Self Published Heidi Holmström Den Haag, Netherlands heidiholmstrom.com/Water-wings Artist book / Research Paper using hydrosphere as conceptual displacement.
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2022Touching: A Research Method in Art & Design Book KABK Lectorate Design KABK Lectorate Design Den Haag, Netherlands www.kabk.nl/nieuws/publication-touching-as-a-research-method This publication, designed by Niels Schrader, contains interviews, research samples, recipes, quotations, and reflections on the research process by tutors, workshop instructors and students all across the KABK community. The range of materials and processes engaged with is diverse and the approaches are as unique as fingerprints, but a premise embedded in the DNA of material research is that experiments are shared.
reviews
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2024'meander' at Billytown Website Art Viewer online artviewer.org/meander-at-billytown/ feature at Art Viewer on 'meander' at Billytown
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2024Echobox at NAP+ , By Loma Doom Radio EchoBox Radio Amsterdam, Netherlands www.echobox.radio Artist talk by Heidi Holmström and Kamau Nganga. Interviewed by Femke Dekker (Loma Doom)
Awards and grants
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2025Grant 1-year Helsinki, Finland
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2025Grant for SIM Residency Nordic culture point Reykjavik, Iceland fully funded residency at SIM Residency in Iceland. February March 2025
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2024HetResort Midseason 24' HetResort Groningen, Netherlands HetResort is funded by Mondriaan Fonds and Gemeentje Groningen.
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2024Stipend for AiR Programme in Studija Space in January Svenska Kulturfonden Helsinki, Finland Grant for residency at Studija Space
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2024Culture Moves Europe Grant EU and Goethe Insititut Berlin, Germany Grant for AiR Programme in Studija Space
Secondary art-related activities
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2025 - 2024Nomadic artist initiative ' Go-Go-Go Initiative' founder and facilitator On-going
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2024 - 2024Alumni talk at KABK Finearts
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2024 - 2024Curation and facilitation at 'meander' group exhibition at Billytown
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2023 - 2023Curation and facilitation on duo-exhibition Phatic Utterances in Antwerp