The graduation works of KABK alums have been featured in the Graduation Catalogue for several years now. In it, they upload their work and indicate which themes apply. Students can apply multiple themes to the project. For this series of articles we look at the works created in 2024 and 2023. In 2024, 32 works were about ecologies, among other things, and in 2023 there were 38 (total works both years was around 200).

The theme of ecologies is not explained in advance; it is up to the graduating students themselves how they interpret it. This can be seen in the reach of the works: the work Sean Charlton White uses photography and fiction to challenge the traditional forms of documentary while exploring how the Dutch have re-shaped their reality. 'Weaving Narratives of Hope' by Aleksandra Chargeshvelli has another angle: it highlights the ecological potential of hemp through craftmandship. Anouscka Vreeswijk emphasises the importance of conserving nature using Park Sorghvliet in The Hague as an example of biodiversity with the project 'Tomorrow's Remains. Below, the three completely different works are highlighted, with the theme of ecologies as the common denominator.

Welkom in Nederland - A Visual Study of Western Society Through The Dutch Neoliberal Utopia by Sean Charlton White (Bachelor Photography 2023)

I left my beloved Swiss hills and mountains nearly four years ago, to come live in the flat country that is the Netherlands. After having roamed the country at lengths hoping to better understand this place and looking for belonging, I find myself split between wonder, amusement, and disbelief, more confused than ever, not knowing what is constructed, natural, real or simulated.

Welkom in Nederland is a semi-fictional satirical documentary about the Dutch neoliberal utopia that can, more generally, be extended to the West. Shedding light on various challenges from our past, present and future, the project reveals and questions the absurdities of Dutch society through its relationship to its environment. Exploring some of its shortcomings in search of understanding while underlining how constructed nature and mass media entangle with each other to create reality.

The use of documentary photography visual codes mixing facts and fiction produce images where the lines between facts and fiction are blurred, creating a satire that challenges traditional forms of documentary while exploring how the Dutch have re-shaped their reality through a highly constructed landscape as they turned their land into a product of the Anthropocene. The uncanniness of the images underlines and exaggerates the alienation and absurdity that transpire for me from this place while giving a point of entry for the audience to engage with complicated and heavy topics through the use of humour. The use of self-portraits serves as an attempt to find my place in this place while re-appropriating parts of it.

These photographs, objects and archives create an alternate record of The Netherlands, closer to my subjective perception of it, pushing the viewer to question and challenge not only the document value of images and how one can be easily manipulated but also his own views of what normalcy should and could be.

View the work in the Graduation Catalogue.

Weaving Narratives of Hope: In the Ruins of the Hemp Industry by Aleksandra Chargeshvili (Master Industrial Design, 2024)

Weaving Narratives of Hope explores the forgotten textile and industrial heritage of Cannabis sativa (hemp) and reflects on the relationships between craft, nature, and technology through the lens of the plant.

The project consists of two parts. The first is a 23-minute documentary road film that takes us to rural central Russia, home to the Indigenous Mordvin people, whose connection to the land is linked to the heritage of hemp textiles (Cannabis sativa).

Shot in the Republic of Mordovia and the Penza region, the documentary combines archival footage and interviews with various individuals (USSR hemp workers, bast culture scientists, an ancestral knowledge keeper) whose lives have been profoundly impacted by hemp. Film bridges the textile craft heritage of the past with today's ecological and cultural needs, advocating for a renewed relationship between humans and nature.

The second part consists of a series of hemp tapestries, including both fully hand-woven pieces and those created with hand-manipulated techniques and digital technologies. The tapestries are dyed with indigo, madder, turmeric, eucalyptus, and charcoal. These tapestries serve as artifacts of a potential future industry, encouraging reflection on the value of natural versus synthetic materials, human-hand versus technological creation, and the culturally specific versus the globalised.

View the work in the Graduation Catalogue.

Tomorrow's Remains by Anouschka Vreeswijk (Bachelor Interactive / Media / Design, 2024)

Tomorrow's Remain’s explores the hidden communication networks of forests, focusing on how trees interact through underground fungal networks and the release of scents above ground. Plants can detect volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from other plants or pests, making a forest's scent profile a bioindicator of its health and interactions within the ecosystem. In this work I have used methods like steam distillation and solvent extraction to capture these VOCs, which are integral to understanding and preserving natural communication networks in a changing world.

The project emphasizes the importance of conserving nature, using Park Sorghvliet in The Hague as an example of biodiversity and ecological management. The park's role in cooling the city and supporting local wildlife underscores the need for sustainable practices. The work includes an olfactory installation featuring 50 glass ornaments that release distinct scents from Park Sorghvliet, serving as an interactive archive of the park's natural communication networks. These scents highlight the potential loss of nature's presence and sensory experiences due to climate change.

View the work in the Graduation Catalogue.