Alma Teer
Boetsters {de ~ (v.); -s} vrouwen die netten herstellen
Alma Teer (1997, NL) delves into the historical dynamics of women’s labor and craft within 20th century fishing culture. She examines the tradition of the ‘boetsters’, women who together in a community repaired fishing nets. By studying archival material and combining this with a contemporary, conceptual approach, Alma interweaves personal memories with collective history. Her art installation, consisting of various visual works and objects, brings together traditional techniques with modern aesthetics and uses the fishing net as a metaphor for both bonding and captivity. This intersection between past and present offers space for reflection on how the lives of these women still resonate in our current society. In this way, she sheds new light on the social roles imposed on women.
Inspired by the traditional costume and the “Dutch fishing yarn”, inherited from her grandmother, Alma weaves her own fishing net. In the work Net(werk) she incorporates gemstones that were originally used in Dutch regional jewelry: red coral from her grandmother’s necklace, together with garnet and pearls. This decoration is a tangible tribute to the resilience and craftsmanship of the sculptors and highlights their vital but often overlooked contributions.
Heavy stones anchor the net firmly on the bottom. These works are free interpretations of so-called “net weights”, age-old stones that are found in various shapes throughout the Netherlands. On the one hand, rough and robust, they symbolize the strength of the female body and challenge traditional femininity. At the same time, their shiny, polished appearance emphasizes the varying beauty ideals that women are expected to adhere to.
The many images of women dressed in traditional costumes, which Alma came across during her research in archive material from the 20th century, formed the inspiration for the works; Dirkje, Johanna, Aagje and Elisabeth.
For this project she worked together with her mother, Monique Neelen, to learn from her sewing techniques and thus honoring the mother-daughter lineage in the important transmission of textile craft techniques. The lace bonnets, each based on a different Dutch region (such as the Frisian floppy hat), represent the different identities of these working women.
Entangled in their own nets, the boetsters continue to work undisturbed. In their search for holes to repair, they only find themselves. Women and girls, frozen in time, unknown individuals who are suddenly in the light.
The collection of postcards in her work Bij de Vleet, dating between 1920 and 1950, bear the silent echoes of the past: handwritten messages, stamps and seals that make visible the traces of their long journey through time.
‘Mijn Vissersmeisje’
O, hoor de golfjes kabb’len
Tegen slagzijde aan
Zo gaat ook door jouw babb’len
Vol gloed mijn harte slaan!
Stuur naar de oever henen,
Zit naast mij in het zand,
Dan zing ‘k als een Sirene
Voor jou alleen aan ’t strand!
Mijn vissersmeisje
Kom waag het reisje
Zing van mijn wijsje
Het blij refrein
Het vissersleven
Kan vreugde geven
Wendt dan de steven
’t Zal heerlijk zijn!
Aan boord zijn nu de netten:
Zie de vissen vol glans
Die spart’lend zich verzetten
Met hun zilveren dans!
Kijk eens daar in den hoge,
Sterren in lichte nacht
Blauw als je mooie ogen
Waar steeds mijn hart naar smacht.
Dutch designers Yearbook
2022
By BNO
Exhibition ‘Cruising, discomfort as a tool to depatriarchise design‘, Huidenclub,(Rotterdam)
‘The Best Jewellery A Woman Can Wear Is Her Smile’
Graduation project 2022
Portraits
Gerrit Rietveld Academie Graduation Show 2022
The Best Jewellery A Woman Can Wear Is Her Smile
Smiling is one of the most common social reflexes of our time, a communication tool for expressing happiness. But a complexity of emotions lies behind this friendly gesture.
My family of ‘smile devices’ questions the influence of history, society, social media and sexuality on the social behaviour of smiling. By forcing the wearer to smile I want to create awareness about those habits of our bodies that go unnoticed in daily life.
By exploring femininity through form and material, I want to connect generations of women sharing the same universal experience of being perceived by the ‘male gaze’.
Reclaiming the power over our bodies, our behaviour and our sensuality without being judged.
Men passing by telling unknown women to smile.
Contributing to centuries of expectations imposed upon the female body.
These pieces tell the real stories that can be found behind a seemingly simple smile.
Finding the right balance between
Torture,
Comfort
and Beauty.
2021
Life is Heart I & II
“Life is Heart” is a captivating dance performance by Alma Teer and Nina Teer. This collaborative project between two sisters; an artist and a professional dance performer, delves into the intricate relationship between the mind and the body’s organs. Highlighting the often alienating disconnection humans experience with their own physical body.
The harsh rhythm creates a tangible experience, a synthetical heartbeat beating far away in your chest. Its aim to express the gap between internal physiological processes and conscious awareness through inviting the audience to explore the profound connections within their own bodies.
2021
Jan Hanlo Essay Prijs
Alma’s initial inspiration derived form a paper plane that in its innocence and fragility contrasts sharply with the noisy airplanes described by Jan Hanlo in his poem ‘Never Quiet Again’. To transform this concept into a trophy, Alma recalled her first memory of a ceremony, namely the awarding of her swimming diploma.
The trophy is a hand-calligraphed certificate that was first signed by the jury’s chair and the prize winner, then folded into a paper plane and handed over to the prize winner by air. The awarding explored both the trophy as an object and the moment when someone is honored as a winner.
2021
RIETVELD – HUYGENS EXCHANGE.
‘What has Huygens ever done for us?”
Inspired by small scented bags filled with herbs and spices called ‘sweet bags’ from the 16th century, Alma imagines an archeological find from the covid pandemic.
