bedMATE of the month #8: Scheltens & Abbenes
Every month we visit a creative, colorful and inspiring person. She or he is the ' bedMATE of the month'.
The bedMATE is the most iconic item in our collection. The extra long pillow serves as a headboard , but also as a cuddle buddy, a friend who gives support.
We crawl into bed with the 'bedMATE of the month. We take a look at their home and their colorful bedroom. In conversation we discover how they experience the SUITE life . What's going on in their heads? Where do they get their inspiration from? What color do they dream in?
This month, all-round creative Nicole Huisman visited Scheltens & Abbenes .
With a dining area that also serves as a ping pong arena, many playful layers, vistas & floors (from their bedroom they look down on their own studio) and a surprising mix of colors and materials, Maurice and Liesbeth do not have an ordinary house. They converted a former warehouse into their home, along with good friends who have moved into the other half of the warehouse. 'Only in this way could we realize our dream: a large studio at home, in Amsterdam'.
Maurice worked as a still life photographer, Liesbeth in the textile world and embroidered tapestries. They got to know each other through a study project of Maurice and later met again. They got into a relationship and working together felt like a logical step for them. Their work, very technical, surprises and amazes and photography is always the medium. The end result can feel like an illusion, because it is carefully built up, layer upon layer, creating an exciting and unexpected composition, a different kind of truthfulness with an eye for detail.
They approach the objects they photograph in a unique way, and their interiors in the same way. But where their work is tight and perfectionist, the house is cozy and warm - 400m2 of individuality & originality, where they live with their two children. Above the void is a lamp specially designed for the duo by Muller van Severen, after they had photographed their book. But practical consideration has also been given: 'The kitchen looks nice, but behind the fronts you can see that we have worked with very basic materials in order to save costs.'
The duo is currently giving new perspective to a museum collection, commissioned by CODA Apeldoorn. In the CODA depot they found archive boxes full of exciting collections of jewellery, costumes, pennants and wooden toys. These museum objects are literally scrutinized again (slash lens) by means of their so-called approach method. The exhibition that will follow from this, ' The Showcase. Unboxing the CODA collection ', can be seen from 1 October 2022 to 15 January 2023 in the CODA museum.
Follow Scheltens & Abbenes on Instagram, via scheltensabbenes
