Renske Buissant des Amorie: 'Rediscover what illustration can be'

When Renske Buissant des Amorie began the Illustration Design programme, she already had an idea of what illustration was. During her studies, she discovered that the field is much broader than she had thought. Over the course of four years, she developed not only her work, but also her perspective on art and her role as a maker.

Starting with an idea of illustration

Renske knew from an early age that she wanted to work with visual media. “I was always busy translating stories into images. I just didn’t know which form appealed to me most. I enjoyed drawing, but also photography and spatial work, such as making sculptures.” She therefore began with a preparatory course, where she explored different disciplines and developed a portfolio, before going on to study Illustration Design in Zwolle.

What appealed to her was the freedom within the programme. “You can get out of it what you want. You are given a great deal of freedom, but that also means that personal responsibility is central. You have to keep motivating yourself and keep your own engine running. At the beginning, that takes some getting used to.”

Many students start with a fixed idea of what illustration is. “For example, you think of children’s books or illustrations in a newspaper. But in the first year, you are encouraged to let go of those assumptions. Tutors want you to rediscover what illustration can be.”
 

Developing your own style

During her studies, her way of working gradually changed. “When I had just started, I was mainly focused on my technique. I made still lifes and copied things, because I thought: this is what you do at an art academy. Later, I started to see everything much more broadly. And I learned to make illustration bigger than the image you see.” She began to combine different techniques. “In my work, I use printmaking techniques, painting, drawing and sometimes also spatial work.”

According to Renske, the programme is ultimately about more than technical aspects. “Many people think you go to ArtEZ to learn how to draw better. But it is much more about your personal development. The journey you go through during the programme is often the most enjoyable part. You are given the time and resources to discover who you are as an artist and as a person. It allows you to explore your interests, develop your style and consider what you want your work to communicate to the world.

Feedback plays an important role in this. “You learn from tutors who are already active in the art world, and of course from each other. You also learn how to articulate what you mean with your work.” According to Renske, this is an important skill for later on. “Many beginning artists make something and then say: this is it. During the programme, you learn to explain why you make something and what you want to say with it.”

A graduation project about looking and being looked at

In her graduation year, Renske worked on a thesis and a final presentation about the role of the artist and the viewer. “I often work with the human body, with organic forms and vulnerability. In my final year, I wondered what would happen if you present something imaginative as if it were a scientific illustration. Or if you distort and stretch bodies.”

During her research, the focus shifted to the role of the viewer. “Why do people want to look at certain things? Why do we find some images interesting, but also feel uncomfortable about them?” She posed these questions to viewers with her final work. “It was a kind of mirroring: you are looking at the work, but you are also being looked at yourself.” Visitors walked through an exhibition inspired by historical freak shows. A kind of circus in which they could look at the works, but the works also looked back at them. This led to different reactions. “Some people laughed at certain images, but then realised: why am I actually laughing at this?”

Developing as a maker and as a person

The final project became more personal for Renske than her earlier work. “In recent years, I kept my work at a slight distance. People responded to my work, but not to me. Then I thought: I am the one making this. What does that say about me? And what do I want my work to say about me?” As a result, she adopted a more vulnerable position as a maker. “At first, I was performing a kind of theatre of who I was as an artist. By the end of the programme, I realised that I want to be more myself, also in my art.” For future students, she has an important message: “You don’t have to know immediately who you are as a maker. I actually hope that students don’t rush that too much. That development never stops. Even now, I am still developing myself, and that is perfectly fine.”