info@jaapderuig.nl
JAAP DE RUIG
2019
-
Zeven
tranen,
het
vierde
gesticht
in
Veenhuizen
/
Seven Tears, The Fourth Asylum in Veenhuizen
Literary
video,
33
min.
(film:
Jaap
de
Ruig,
text
and
voice-over: Mariët Meester).
Fragment
https://youtu.be/nQt84B_2htY
Writer
Mariët
Meester,
who
grew
up
in
the
prison
village
of
Veenhuizen,
did
a
performance
at
the
Veenhuizen
cemetery.
Standing
at
the
head
of
seven
diifferent
gravestones,
she
told
her
audience
the
story
of
the
person
buried
there.
After
finishing
at
one
grave,
a
flute
player
lured
them
to
another
grave
at
another
spot
of
the
cemetery.
LIke
in
a
funeral
procession
the
audience
follewed
her.
In
the
video
no
persons are visible.
2020
-
Uitgeverij
Caprae
/
Publishing
House
Caprae,
a
project
by
Jaap
de
Ruig.
Including:
design,
photography,
illustrations,
production
and
web
design of
www.uitgeverijcaprae.nl
Founding
of
own
publishing
house.
The
name
refers
to
the
idiosyncratic
and
at
the
same
time
friendly
nature
of
the
goat
(latin:
capra).
Although
the
animal
is
often
associated
with
deforestation
and
desertification,
it
is
the
goatherd
(mankind)
who
is
responsible.
The
number
of
copies
for
an
edition
is
therefore
limited.
Each
book
is
numbered,
signed
by
the
author
and
contains
a
hand-colored
drawing.
In
2020
and
2021
Caprae
published
three
novels,
all
written
by
author
Mariët
Meester:
a
new
novel
Pingping
and two reprints of ‘classic’ ones.
2015
-
The
Prison
Village,
Veenhuizen
In
The
20th
Century
- 48 min., documentary based on oral history
Dutch
writer
Mariët
Meester
grew
up
in
a
prison
village,
Veenhuizen,
surrounded
by
hundreds
of
No
Trespassing
signs.
At
the
beginning
of
the
twentieth
century
homeless
men,
the
so-called
'patients',
were
housed
there
in
three
asylums.
During
World
War
II
the
asylums
became
prisons.
The
documentary
depicts
a
remarkable
enclave
in
the
Netherlands.
Residents
and
former
residents
told
the
author
about
working
and
living
in
this
closed
community,
where
no-one
else
could
enter.
The
interviews
were
taken
as
a starting point for the documentary.
Complete documentary, subtitled in English:
https://youtu.be/xMsMtAicQuY
Early works click here
2009
-
The
Source,
One
Day
In
A
Roma
Settlement
in
Romania
-
40
min.,
video
installation
/
creative
documentary. Trailer
https://youtu.be/N02ce-8uTLY
Hetea
is
an
isolated
settlement
in
Central
Romania.
Around
350
people
live
in
handmade
huts.
We
experience
one
common
day
in
Hetea.
The
day
starts
out
pastorally
enough:
herding
cows
and
horses,
building
a
new
wooden
house,
etc.
In
the
afternoon,
suddenly
the
fat
is
in
the
fire.
People
scream
and
threaten
each
other.
Little
by
little
the
serene
atmosphere
returns,
but
the
aftereffects
of
the
quarrel
are still audible.
Jaap
de
Ruig
prepared
the
film
for
seventeen
years
and
recorded
it
in
one
day.
He
chose
not
to
subtitle
because
then
he
would
have
given
too
much
meaning
to
words,
which
divert
from
the
universal
character
of
the images.
2018
-
Een
dier
/
een
mens
-
An
Animal
/
A
Human
Being
, a manifestation consisting of:
-
Mini-symposium
in
theater
Boom
Chicago,
Amsterdamabout
the
relationship
between
man,
animal and visual art.
-
When
The
Cows
Come
Home
-
A
video
loop
of
a
herd
of
cows
walking
toward
the
center
of
Amsterdam
behind
the
windows
of
five
canal
houses.
Registration
video:
https://youtu.be/j-UdgKvJ0hI
-
Sacrifice
-
Exhibition
of
a
series
of
105
drawings
of
ten
families
of
piglet
portraits.
The
piglets
are
numbered
by
ear
notching.
Their
eyes
are
slightly
humanized to regive them their individuality..
-
Requiem
For
Pigs
-
Edited
found
footage
video
of
pig
maltreatment
with
a
music
score
of
the
transformed
pig sounds, 14 min., black peep box.
2010
-
Wisdom
And
Hell
-
performance
i.c.w. Romanian
Roma funnelmaker David Vasile.
https://youtu.be/ZXvaNh0gOjs
For
Jeroen
Bosch
the
funnel
is
a
symbol
of
both
wisdom
and
deceit.
Dante
describes
hell
as
an
enormous funnel-shaped cavern with nine circles.
Jaap
de
Ruig's
exhibition
space
in
the
section
No
Holds
Barred
at
Art
Amsterdam
2010
was
fitted
out
as
a
workplace.
In
a
circle
of
light,
David,
a
young
Romanian
gypsy,
was
making
tin
funnels.
A
video
projection
on
the
back
wall
showed
how
he
and
his
family
work
at
home.
David
scrapes
a
living
by
hawking
his
funnels
beside
the
road.
This
has
become
more and more difficult since Romania joined the EU.
Jaap
de
Ruig
and
David
are
acquainted
since
the
beginning
of
the
nineties.
Although
Jaap
de
Ruig
was
the
'official'
artist,
it
was
their
mutual
desire
to
work
together
and
focus
attention
on
themes
as:
household
goods
versus
design,
Romanian
Roma
poverty
versus
Western
European
wealth,
the
symbolic
value
of
the
funnel,
and
the
beauty
of
craftmanship.
2017
-
Life
After
A
Bicycle
Accident
-
Two-screen
video
installation, 31 minutes.
This
video
installation
tells
the
story
of
a
just
married
Dutch
piano
player
who
falls
off
his
bicycle
during
a
ride
through
France.
He
becomes
paralysed.
The
installation
starts
with
hands
playing
a
piano.
The
main
character
comes
into
the
picture.
He
says:
'There
is
the
story
that
you
don't
want
it
to
have
happened.'
While
his
voice
further
explains
what
did
happen
to
him,
we
see
two
images
side
by
side,
the
complementary
image
shows
him
busy
with
his
daily
chores.
An
intimate
portrait
of
the
consequences.
Conclusion:
in
the
end
such
an
accident
makes
no
difference
for
your
level
of
happiness. Fragment
https://youtu.be/DDnkHOabz6I
2013 -
About A Bizarre Phenomenon Called Life
25 shorts. Some examples:
2017
-
The
Morning
I
Was
So
Angry
At
My
Wife,
I
Smashed
My
19th
Century
Guitar
-
6
hour
video,
restored
guitar.
Fragment
https://youtu.be/Q5T6fmbWKfA
Two
years
after
the
event,
the
artist
opened
the
trash
bag
with
the
remains
and
began
restoring
meticulously
the instrument.
2017
-
De
woonwagen,
dat
ben
ik
/
The
Living
Wagon,
That’s
Me
-
33
min.
creative
documentary
and
an
installation
of
miniature
living
wagons,
i.c.w.
Dutch
travelers.
Since
the
Living
Wagon
Act
of
1968,
Dutch
travelers
are
no
longer
allowed
to
lead
an
itinerant
life.
The
government
felt
it
had
too
little
control
over
"people
without
a
permanent
residence".
The
current
caravans
may
no
longer
have
wheels,
for
most
of
the
travelers
the
desire
for
freedom
is
still
important.
The
living
wagon
is
their
culture
and
identity.
Over
the
years,
Jaap
de
Ruig
noticed
that
many
of
them
possess
miniatures
of
their
former
traveling
wagons.
For
an
exhibition
in
Museum
De
Domijnen
in
Sittard
the
artist
contacted
travelers
who
lived
nearby.
A
number
of
them
were
willing
to
lend
him
their
miniatures,
which
were
exhibited
in
the
museum
in
combination
with
a
short
documentary
in
which
the
owners
explain
why
those
wagons
are
so
important
to them. Fragment
https://youtu.be/IvVD-QpfES8
2011-2015 - Wat David ziet /
What David Sees
A project i.c.w. David Vasile. 6000 photos,
documentary (39 min.), photo book. Fragment of doc.
https://youtu.be/wF8JMUyZIto
What
David
Sees
is
a
continuation
of
Wisdom
and
Hell
,
a
project
which
was
presented
at
Art
Amsterdam
2010.
David,
a
Romanian
Roma
funnelmaker
who
was
very
interested
in
the
photos
exhibited
at
the
fair,
asked
Jaap
if
he
could
borrow
a
small
digital
photo
camera.
After
his
return
to
Romania
he
started
taking
pictures
of
everything
he
saw
in
the
Roma
quarter
where
he
lives,
as
well
while
selling
his
funnels.
Nearly
weekly
he
sent
the
photos
to
Jaap
de
Ruig
from
an
internet
cafe.
For
this
he
received
a
monthly
fee
which
was
gathered by crowdfunding.
What
David
Sees
has
social,
historical
and
aesthetic
dimensions.
It’s
important
for
Roma
to
capture
their
own
existence.
Photographs
are
a
tool
for
historical
awareness and can be a basis for self esteem.
2019
-
Verlost
als
vogel
/
Redeemed
As
a
Bird
-
loop
1’,38’’,
video
installation
on
the
windows
of
the
old
grocery
store
in
the
open-air
museum
It
Dams
Hus
in
Nij
Beets.
A
flight
of
birds
appears
over
the
landscape
of
nearby
Kortehemmen.
Suddenly
one
of
the
birds
leaves
the
group
and
undergoes
a
metamorphosis
during
his
descent.
The
birds
are
symbolized
by
hands.
https://youtu.be/i83Q16XJ0Eo
Jaap
de
Ruig
spent
the
first
two
years
of
his
life
in
the
Woodbrookershuis
in
Kortehemmen,
in
those
days
an
educational
community
with
liberal
Protestant
views
and
socialist
ideals.
It
was
the
place
where
the
artist's
unmarried
mother
could
come
to
work
and
nurse
her
baby at the same time, free from civilian comments.
2021
-
GEEN
PANIEK
-
Een
jaar
in
lockdown
op
150m2
poldergrond
-
DON'T
PANIC
-
One
Year
in
Lockdown
on
150m² of Polder Land
Single screen video 4K, 56 min.
When
the
Netherlands
went
into
lockdown
in
March
2020,
Jaap
de
Ruig
moved
from
his
apartment
in
Amsterdam
to
his
wooden
caravan
outside
the
city.
He
immediately
started
filming
everything
that
happened
in
nature
within
range
of
his
camera,
but
the
camera
itself
had
to
stay
inside
the
fence
surrounding
the
caravan.
After
exactly
a
year,
he
edited
the
footage
into
a
film
of
which
the
soundtrack
synchronously
tells
how
human
society
experienced
the
same
period.
Conclusion:
Man
is
a
short-term
thinker
who
panics
when
hit
directly,
while
the
animals,
the
plants
and
the
elements
stoically
continue their life cycle.
This
project
was
made
possible
thanks
to
a
subsidy
from
VEVAM,
the
rights
organization
of
Dutch
film
and television directors.
2022 - Het vrolijke varken -
The Merry Pig
The
Mud
Pool
-
video
installation:
a
group
of
pigs
amuses
itself
around
a
mud
pool
behind
the
windows
of four canal houses in the center of Amsterdam.
https://youtu.be/hGMxpI9ALS4
The
Merry
Pig
-
Irony
for
Children
(and
Grown
Ups)
:
A
series
of
25
small
oil
paintings,
based
on
children's
toys
and
decorative
figurines.
Pigs
on
a
motorbike,
pigs
in
funny
hats,
pigs
with
pacifiers
and
bib;
man
comes
with
all
kinds
of
fabrications
about
the
animal
he
resembles.
See
also
the
explanation
of
the
artist
about the paintings:
https://youtu.be/dwSZvBx5L4I
For
more
information
on
the
farm
where
the
mud
pool was filmed:
https://youtu.be/UWf4sVTKfvc
Head Sharing
The Fight To Kick Your Own Arse
https://youtu.be/2_4Algc6qEs
https://youtu.be/Cr69I_rXKwU
https://youtu.be/WwrnzhigsIk
videostill
2023 -
Effortlessness
loop
1'.32'', video projection on a floor
Fish
glide
effortlessly
through
shallow
water,
they’re
symbolized
by
the
artist's
hands.
The
fish
cast
a
shadow
on
the
sandy
bottom
and
sometimes
on
each other as they pass.
https://youtu.be/ImHteT7XGdE
Bottom
right:
as
a
small
installation
during
the
exhibition
'A
Cry
from
the
Deepest
Dephts
of
Lost
Time', Ultima Thule*, 2023, Amsterdam.
2025 -
The Incredible Beauty of Organic Farming
Single screen / video installation, 28’.32’’
Meditative
film
in
which
the
beauty
of
ecological
agriculture and livestock farming is sung wordlessly.
An
idyllic
nineteenth-century
painting
with
cows
in
a
meadow
landscape,
purchased
on
an
online
sales
platform,
gives
the
artist
a
feeling
of
happiness
every
time
he
looks
at
it.
In
The
Incredible
Beauty
of
Organic
Farming,
Jaap
de
Ruig
investigates
whether
such
a
form
of
agriculture
and
livestock
farming
is
also
possible
in
the
twenty-first
century.
He
visited
and
revisited
a
number
of
successful
farms
that
work
with
respect
for
the
earth
and
livestock,
including
a
270
hectare
arable
farm
and
a
mixed
farm
that
grows
vegetables
and
ornamental
flowers
and
raises
dairy
cattle.
On
these
farms
he
experienced
the
same
thing
as
when
looking
at
the
painting,
once
he
was
even
moved
to
tears
when
he
saw
a
field
with
endless
rows
of
ecological
carrots.
It
made
him
aware
of
the
purity
of
both
the
crop
and
the
soil
in
which
it
grew.
The
poetic
images,
almost
subversive
in
their
simplicity,
prove
that
there
is
a
reality
that
can
offer
a
view of a livable future.
The
Incredible
Beauty
of
Organic
Farming
is
a
film
with
only
51
shots
in
nearly
30
minutes
and
an
opening
shot
of
three
and
a
half
minutes.
The
musical
score,
composed
by
the
artist,
has
a
minimalist and serene character.
This
film
fits
within
Jaap
de
Ruig's
oeuvre,
in
which
one
of
the
recurring
themes
is
the
relationship
between
man
and
the
animals
man
exploits.
This
also
extends
to
plants
and
the
earth
in
general.
The
static
camera
work
is
also
characteristic
of
his
work,
comparable
to
the
experimental
documentary
The
Source
-
One
Day
in
a
Roma
Settlement
in
Romania
(2009),
which
was
shown
at
eleven
film
festivals
including
the
IFFR
(Rotterdam)
and
the
NFF
(Utrecht),
and
the
more
recent
film
NO
PANIC!
-
One
Year
in
Lockdown
on
150m²
of
Polder
Land
(2021),
which
was
on
display
as
an
installation
in
Museum
Belvédère
in
Heerenveen
and
in
CRUCE
-
arte
y
pensamiento
contemporáneo in Madrid.
2024 -
When the Cows Come Home
Video installation,
loop
, 5’.40’’, 2018
Impression:
https://youtu.be/AhQMFIAw4Vk
Purchased
in
2024
for
the
art
collection
of
the
Amsterdam
University
Medical
Center,
for
permanent
installation at the AMC location.
Quote
curator:
'De
Ruig
offers
a
window
on
the
outside
world.
A
moment
of
surprise
and
recognition
where
patients,
employees
and
visitors
find
themselves
in
a
different
environment
in
the
hustle
and
bustle
of
the
busy
corridor.
(…)
Art
and
culture
can
contribute
to
the
recovery
process
and
the
general experience in the hospital.’
2026
-
Improved
Human
Beings
Oil
on
panel,
each
40x40cm, work in progress up to #42.
When
the
artist
was
in
his
early
twenties,
he
left
the
Netherlands
depressed
and
ended
up
by
chance
in
France
with
a
goat
herder.
It
became
a
turning
point
in
his
life;
the
goats
made
‘a
better
human
being'
of
him.
Although
animals
have
always
played
a
central
role
in
his
work,
only
now
has
he
found
a
form
with
which
he
can
depict
the
herd
that
saved
him.
In
the
series
Improved
Human
Beings,
he
replaces
his
own
portrait
with
the
portrait
of
a
goat.
Given
the
situation
in
the
world,
he
has
come
to
value
their
emotional
quality
and
wisdom
more
highly
than
his
own
or
that
of
his
fellow man.
2026 -
The Body as a Tool
Installation
of
approximately
400
photos
shown
on
a
display surrounded by hand tools. 19’.03’’.
The
Body
as
a
Tool
is
an
installation
incorporating
a
photo
sequence
showing
how
the
artist
has
been
working
on
his
old
wooden
caravan
over
the
past
twenty
years.
The
display
is
surrounded
by
hand
tools
once
belonging
to
his
own
ancestors
and
those
of
others.
Regarding
this
installation,
he
says:
'What
is
a
body
other
than
an
instrument
used
as
a
tool
to
make other tools do their work?'
2026 -
For the Love of Pigs
Single-screen
video.
85
photos.
Sound
recordings
in
a
pig slaughterhouse. 5’40’’.
For
the
Love
of
Pigs
is
a
photo
sequence
of
miniature
figurines
of
dressed-up
pigs
accompanied
by
the
sound
of
a
pig
slaughterhouse.
Jaap
de
Ruig:
'Man
likes
to
fool
himself
by
portraying
pigs
in
decorative
figurines
as
comical
pleasure-seekers.
In
reality,
pigs
are the animals he treats the worst.'
JAAP DE RUIG
2017
-
De
woonwagen,
dat
ben
ik
/
The
Living
Wagon,
That’s
Me
-
33
min.
creative
documentary
and
an
installation
of
miniature
living wagons, i.c.w. Dutch travelers.
Since
the
Living
Wagon
Act
of
1968,
Dutch
travelers
are
no
longer
allowed
to
lead
an
itinerant
life.
The
government
felt
it
had
too
little
control
over
"people
without
a
permanent
residence".
The
current
caravans
may
no
longer
have
wheels,
for
most
of
the
travelers
the
desire
for
freedom
is
still
important.
The
living
wagon
is
their
culture
and
identity.
Over
the
years,
Jaap
de
Ruig
noticed
that
many
of
them
possess
miniatures
of
their
former
traveling
wagons.
For
an
exhibition
in
Museum
De
Domijnen
in
Sittard
the
artist
contacted
travelers
who
lived
nearby.
A
number
of
them
were
willing
to
lend
him
their
miniatures,
which
were
exhibited
in
the
museum
in
combination
with
a
short
documentary
in
which
the
owners
explain
why
those
wagons
are
so
important
to them.
Fragment
https://youtu.be/IvVD-QpfES8
2017
-
Life
After
A
Bicycle
Accident
-
Two-
screen video installation, 31 minutes.
This
video
installation
tells
the
story
of
a
just
married
Dutch
piano
player
who
falls
off
his
bicycle
during
a
ride
through
France.
He
becomes
paralysed.
The
installation
starts
with
hands
playing
a
piano.
The
main
character
comes
into
the
picture.
He
says:
'There
is
the
story
that
you
don't
want
it
to
have
happened.'
While
his
voice
further
explains
what
did
happen
to
him,
we
see
two
images
side
by
side,
the
complementary
image
shows
him
busy
with
his
daily
chores.
An
intimate
portrait
of
the
consequences.
Conclusion:
in
the
end
such
an
accident
makes
no
difference
for
your
level
of
happiness.
Fragment
https://youtu.be/DDnkHOabz6I
2011-2015 - Wat David ziet /
What David Sees
A project i.c.w. David Vasile. 6000 photos,
documentary (39 min.), photo book.
Fragment of doc.
https://youtu.be/wF8JMUyZIto
What
David
Sees
is
a
continuation
of
Wisdom
and
Hell
,
a
project
which
was
presented
at
Art
Amsterdam
2010.
David,
a
Romanian
Roma
funnelmaker
who
was
very
interested
in
the
photos
exhibited
at
the
fair,
asked
Jaap
if
he
could
borrow
a
small
digital
photo
camera.
After
his
return
to
Romania
he
started
taking
pictures
of
everything
he
saw
in
the
Roma
quarter
where
he
lives,
as
well
while
selling
his
funnels.
Nearly
weekly
he
sent
the
photos
to
Jaap
de
Ruig
from
an
internet
cafe.
For
this
he
received
a
monthly
fee
which
was
gathered by crowdfunding.
What
David
Sees
has
social,
historical
and
aesthetic
dimensions.
It’s
important
for
Roma
to
capture
their
own
existence.
Photographs
are
a
tool
for
historical
awareness
and
can
be
a
basis
for
self
esteem.
2015
-
The
Prison
Village,
Veenhuizen
In
The
20th
Century
-
48
min.,
documentary based
on oral history
Dutch
writer
Mariët
Meester
grew
up
in
a
prison
village,
Veenhuizen,
surrounded
by
hundreds
of
No
Trespassing
signs.
At
the
beginning
of
the
twentieth
century
homeless
men,
the
so-called
'patients',
were
housed
there
in
three
asylums.
During
World
War
II
the
asylums
became
prisons.
The
documentary
depicts
a
remarkable
enclave
in
the
Netherlands.
Residents
and
former
residents
told
the
author
about
working
and
living
in
this
closed
community,
where
no-
one
else
could
enter.
The
interviews
were
taken
as
a
starting
point
for
the
documentary.
Complete documentary, subtitled in English:
https://youtu.be/xMsMtAicQuY
About A Bizarre Phenomenon Called Life -
2013, 25 shorts. Some examples:
Wisdom
And
Hell
-
2010,
performance
i.c.w. Romanian
Roma
funnelmaker
David
Vasile.
https://youtu.be/ZXvaNh0gOjs
For
Jeroen
Bosch
the
funnel
is
a
symbol
of
both
wisdom
and
deceit.
Dante
describes
hell
as
an
enormous
funnel-shaped
cavern
with nine circles.
Jaap
de
Ruig's
space
in
the
section
No
Holds
Barred
at
Art
Amsterdam
2010
was
fitted
out
as
a
workplace.
In
a
circle
of
light,
David,
a
young
Romanian
gypsy,
was
making
tin
funnels.
A
video
projection
on
the
back
wall
showed
how
he
and
his
family
work
at
home.
David
scrapes
a
living
by
hawking
his
funnels
beside
the
main
road.
This
has
become
more
and
more
difficult
since
Romania
joined
the
EU.
Jaap
de
Ruig
and
David
are
acquainted
since
the
beginning
of
the
nineties.
Although
Jaap
de
Ruig
was
the
'official'
artist,
it
was
their
mutual
desire
to
work
together
and
focus
attention
on
themes
as:
household
goods
versus
design,
Romanian
Roma
poverty
versus
Western
European
wealth,
the
symbolic
value
of
the
funnel,
and
the
beauty
of craftmanship.
The
Source,
One
Day
In
A
Roma
Settlement
in
Romania
-
2009,
40
min.,
video
installation
/ creative documentary.
Hetea
is
an
isolated
settlement
in
Central
Romania.
Around
350
people
live
in
handmade
huts.
We
experience
one
ordinary
day
in
Hetea.
The
day
starts
out
pastorally
enough:
herding
cows
and
horses,
building
a
new
wooden
house,
etc.
In
the
afternoon,
suddenly
the
fat
is
in
the
fire.
People
scream
and
threaten
each
other.
Little
by
little
the
serene
atmosphere
returns,
but
the
aftereffects of the quarrel are still audible.
Jaap
de
Ruig
prepared
the
film
for
seventeen
years
and
recorded
it
in
one
day.
He
chose
not
to
subtitle
because
then
he
would
have
given
too
much
meaning
to
words,
which
divert
from
the
universal
character
of
the
images.
Trailer
https://youtu.be/N02ce-8uTLY
2020
-
Uitgeverij
Caprae
/
Publishing
House
Caprae,
a
project
by
Jaap
de
Ruig.
Including:
design,
photography,
illustrations,
production
and web design of
www.uitgeverijcaprae.nl
Founding
of
own
publishing
house.
The
name
refers
to
the
idiosyncratic
and
at
the
same
time
friendly
nature
of
the
goat
(latin:
capra).
Although
the
animal
is
often
associated
with
deforestation
and
desertification,
it
is
the
goatherd
(mankind)
who
is
responsible.
The
number
of
copies
for
an
edition
is
therefore
limited.
Each
book
is
numbered,
signed
by
the
author
and
contains
a
hand-colored
drawing.
In
2020
and
2021
Caprae
published
three
novels,
all
written
by
author
Mariët
Meester:
a
new
novel
Pingping
and
two
reprints of ‘classic’ ones.
2019
-
Zeven
tranen,
het
vierde
gesticht
in
Veenhuizen
/
Seven
Tears,
The
Fourth
Asylum
in Veenhuizen
Literary
video,
33
min.
(film:
Jaap
de
Ruig,
text and voice-over: Mariët Meester).
Fragment
https://youtu.be/nQt84B_2htY
Writer
Mariët
Meester,
who
grew
up
in
the
prison
village
of
Veenhuizen,
did
a
performance
at
the
Veenhuizen
cemetery.
Standing
at
the
head
of
seven
diifferent
gravestones,
she
told
her
audience
the
story
of
the
person
buried
there.
After
finishing
at
one
grave,
a
flute
player
lured
them
to
another
grave
at
another
spot
of
the
cemetery.
LIke
in
a
funeral
procession
the
audience
follewed
her.
In
the
video
no
persons are visible.
2018
-
Een
dier
/
een
mens
-
An
Animal
/
A
Human Being
, a manifestation consisting of:
-
Mini-symposium
in
theater
Boom
Chicago,
Amsterdam,
about
the
relationship
between
man, animal and visual art.
-
When
The
Cows
Come
Home
-
A
video
loop
of
a
herd
of
cows
walking
toward
the
center
of
Amsterdam
behind
the
windows
of
five
canal houses. Registration video:
https://youtu.be/j-UdgKvJ0hI
-
Sacrifice
-
Exhibition
of
a
series
of
105
drawings
of
ten
families
of
piglet
portraits.
The
piglets
are
numbered
by
ear
notching.
Their
eyes
are
slightly
humanized
to
regive
them their individuality..
-
Requiem
For
Pigs
-
Edited
found
footage
video
of
pig
maltreatment
with
a
music
score
of
the
transformed
pig
sounds,
14
min., black peep box.
2017
-
The
Morning
I
Was
So
Angry
At
My
Wife,
I
Smashed
My
19th
Century
Guitar
-
6
hour
video,
restored
guitar.
Fragment
https://youtu.be/Q5T6fmbWKfA
Two
years
after
the
event,
the
artist
opened
the
trash
bag
with
the
remains
and
began
restoring meticulously the instrument.
Early works click here
info@jaapderuig.nl
2019
-
Verlost
als
vogel
/
Redeemed
As
a
Bird
-
loop
1’,38’’,
video
installation
on
the
windows
of
the
old
grocery
store
in
the
open-air
museum
It
Dams
Hus
in
Nij
Beets.
A
flight
of
birds
appears
over
the
landscape
of
nearby
Kortehemmen.
Suddenly
one
of
the
birds
leaves
the
group
and
undergoes
a
meta-
morphosis
during
his
descent.
The
birds
are
symbolized by hands.
https://youtu.be/i83Q16XJ0Eo
Jaap
de
Ruig
spent
the
first
two
years
of
his
life
in
the
Woodbrookershuis
in
Kortehem-
men,
in
those
days
an
educational
commu-
nity
with
liberal
Protestant
views
and
socialist
ideals.
It
was
the
place
where
the
artist's
unmarried
mother
could
come
to
work
and
nurse
her
baby
at
the
same
time,
free
from
civilian comments.
2021
-
GEEN
PANIEK
-
Een
jaar
in
lockdown
op
150m2
poldergrond
-
DON'T
PANIC
-
One
Year in Lockdown on 150m² of Polder Land
Single screen video 4K, 56 min.
When
the
Netherlands
went
into
lockdown
in
March
2020,
Jaap
de
Ruig
moved
from
his
apartment
in
Amsterdam
to
his
wooden
caravan
outside
the
city.
He
immediately
started
filming
everything
that
happened
in
nature
within
range
of
his
camera,
but
the
camera
itself
had
to
stay
inside
the
fence
surrounding
the
caravan.
After
exactly
a
year,
he
edited
the
footage
into
a
film
of
which
the
soundtrack
synchronously
tells
how
human
society
experienced
the
same
period.
Conclusion:
Man
is
a
short-term
thinker
who
panics
when
hit
directly,
while
the
animals,
the
plants
and
the
elements
stoically
continue their life cycle.
This
project
was
made
possible
thanks
to
a
subsidy
from
VEVAM,
the
rights
organization
of Dutch film and television directors.
The
Mud
Pool
-
video
installation:
a
group
of
pigs
amuse
themselves
in
and
around
a
mud
pool
behind
the
windows
of
four
canal
houses in the center of Amsterdam.
The
Merry
Pig
-
Irony
for
Children
(and
Grown
Ups)
:
A
series
of
25
small
oil
paintings,
based
on
children's
toys
and
decorative
figurines.
Pigs
on
a
motorbike,
pigs
in
funny
hats,
pigs
with
pacifiers
and
bib;
man
comes
with
all
kinds
of
fabrications
about
the
animal
that
so
resembles
him.
See
also
the
explanation
of
the artist about the paintings:
https://youtu.be/dwSZvBx5L4I
For
more
info
on
the
farm
where
the
mud
pool was filmed:
https://youtu.be/UWf4sVTKfvc
To Kick Your Own Arse
https://youtu.be/WwrnzhigsIk
2022 - Het vrolijke varken -
The Merry Pig
Video installation and paintings.
Fish
glide
effortlessly
through
shallow
water,
they’re
symbolized
by
the
artist's
hands.
The
fish
cast
a
shadow
on
the
sandy
bottom
and
sometimes on each other as they pass.
https://youtu.be/ImHteT7XGdE
As
a
small
installation
during
the
exhibition
'A
Cry
from
the
Deepest
Dephts
of
Lost
Time', Ultima Thule*, 2023, Amsterdam.
2023 -
Effortlessness
loop
1'.32'', video projection on a floor
2024 -
When the Cows Come Home
Video installation,
loop
, 5’.40’’, 2018
Impression:
https://youtu.be/AhQMFIAw4Vk
Purchased
in
2024
for
the
art
collection
of
the
Amsterdam
University
Medical
Center,
for
permanent installation at the AMC location.
Quote
curator:
'De
Ruig
offers
a
window
on
the
outside
world.
A
moment
of
surprise
and
recognition
where
patients,
employees
and
visitors
find
themselves
in
a
different
environment
in
the
hustle
and
bustle
of
the
busy
corridor.
(…)
Art
and
culture
can
contribute
to
the
recovery
process
and
the
general experience in the hospital.’
2025 -
The Incredible Beauty of Organic Farming
Single screen / video installation, 28’.32’’
Meditative
film
in
which
the
beauty
of
ecological
agriculture
and
livestock
farming
is
sung wordlessly.
An
idyllic
nineteenth-century
painting
with
cows
in
a
meadow
landscape,
purchased
on
an
online
sales
platform,
gives
the
artist
a
feeling
of
happiness
every
time
he
looks
at
it.
In
The
Incredible
Beauty
of
Organic
Farming,
Jaap
de
Ruig
investigates
whether
such
a
form
of
agriculture
and
livestock
farming
is
also
possible
in
the
twenty-first
century.
He
visited
and
revisited
a
number
of
successful
farms
that
work
with
respect
for
the
earth
and
livestock,
including
a
270
hectare
arable
farm
and
a
mixed
farm
that
grows
vegetables
and
ornamental
flowers
and
raises
dairy
cattle.
On
these
farms
he
experienced
the
same
thing
as
when
looking
at
the
painting,
once
he
was
even
moved
to
tears
when
he
saw
a
field
with
endless
rows
of
ecological
carrots.
It
made
him
aware
of
the
purity
of
both
the
crop
and
the
soil
in
which
it
grew.
The
poetic
images,
almost
subversive
in
their
simplicity,
prove
that
there
is
a
reality
that
can
offer
a
view
of
a
livable future.
The
Incredible
Beauty
of
Organic
Farming
is
a
film
with
only
51
shots
in
nearly
30
minutes
and
an
opening
shot
of
three
and
a
half
minutes.
The
musical
score,
composed
by
the
artist, has a minimalist and serene character.
This
film
fits
within
Jaap
de
Ruig's
oeuvre,
in
which
one
of
the
recurring
themes
is
the
relationship
between
man
and
the
animals
man
exploits.
This
also
extends
to
plants
and
the
earth
in
general.
The
static
camera
work
is
also
characteristic
of
his
work,
comparable
to
the
experimental
documentary
The
Source
-
One
Day
in
a
Roma
Settlement
in
Romania
(2009),
which
was
shown
at
eleven
film
festivals
including
the
IFFR
(Rotterdam)
and
the
NFF
(Utrecht),
and
the
more
recent
film
NO
PANIC!
-
One
Year
in
Lockdown
on
150m²
of
Polder
Land
(2021),
which
was
on
display
as
an
installation
in
Museum
Belvédère
in
Heerenveen
and
in
CRUCE
-
arte
y
pensamiento contemporáneo in Madrid.
2026
-
Improved
Human
Beings
-
oil
on
panel,
each 40x40cm, work in progress up to #42.
When
the
artist
was
in
his
early
twenties,
he
left
the
Netherlands
depressed
and
ended
up
by
chance
in
France
with
a
goat
herder.
It
became
a
turning
point
in
his
life;
the
goats
made ‘a better human being' of him.
Although
animals
have
always
played
a
central
role
in
his
work,
only
now
has
he
found
a
form
with
which
he
can
depict
the
herd
that
saved
him.
In
the
series
Improved
Human
Beings
,
he
replaces
his
own
portrait
with
the
portrait
of
a
goat.
Given
the
situation
in
the
world,
he
has
come
to
value
their
emotional
quality
and
wisdom
more
highly
than his own or that of his fellow man.
2026 -
The Body as a Tool
Installation
of
approximately
400
photos
shown
on
a
display
surrounded
by
hand
tools. 19’.03’’.
The
Body
as
a
Tool
is
an
installation
incor-
porating
a
photo
sequence
showing
how
the
artist
has
been
working
on
his
old
wooden
caravan
over
the
past
twenty
years.
The
display
is
surrounded
by
hand
tools
once
belonging
to
his
own
ancestors
and
those
of
others.
Regarding
this
installation,
he
says:
'What
is
a
body
other
than
an
instrument
used
as
a
tool
to
make
other
tools
do
their
work?'
2026 -
For the Love of Pigs
Single-screen
video.
85
photos.
Sound
recordings in a pig slaughterhouse. 5’40’’.
For
the
Love
of
Pigs
is
a
photo
sequence
of
miniature
figurines
of
dressed-up
pigs
accompanied
by
the
sound
of
a
pig
slaughterhouse.
Jaap
de
Ruig:
'Man
likes
to
fool
himself
by
portraying
pigs
in
decorative
figurines
as
comical
pleasure-seekers.
In
reality,
pigs
are
the
animals
he
treats
the
worst.'