Jente Hoogeveen was born seven kilometres from the sea. Not quite ‘by the sea’, but close enough to grow up with the sound of gulls on the rooftops and a fresh sea breeze funneling through the streets – sometimes in her favour, but more often against her. She recalls cycling as a child through the sweltering city on hot summer days, weaving between traffic jams on the way to Scheveningen. As a teenager she briefly tried her hand at surfing, only to discover that she felt more at home on the sand and along the boulevard, sketchbook in hand. Together with her sister – who does know her way around a surfboard – she can often be found at the beach. These days, however, she lives on the edge of the Veluwe, where the drifting sands of the heathlands form their own kind of dune landscape, though sheltered from the wind.
Her studio is filled with papers – preferably with a light texture and fine fibres – half-used pots of ink, and dip pens of varying sizes. Surf and beach culture have always fascinated her: the seeing and being seen along the boulevard, the high coolness factor of surfers beyond the breakers. The desire to belong, not wanting to miss out. It is not success but the attempts themselves that intrigue her. With delicate pen drawings and a touch of humour, she captures the moments never meant for display: the struggle at the pool’s edge, or the battle getting out of a wetsuit.
