Quinda Verheul
Quinda is a Rotterdam-based artist who aims to engage and transform viewer’s experiences with her installations. She seeks to move people to self-reflection and raise awareness on how we can contribute to a kinder world. Beyond art, Quinda speaks and shares about her experience in the Atlas Mountain Race earlier this year, organized by PEdAL ED.
Let’s start with your cycling adventure. When did you first get the idea to participate in the ultra-distance cycling race in Morocco?
I have always been a hiker. I only bought my first bike in 2016, a race bike. I loved the freedom that bike gave me and the fact that you can travel faster. I started a bikepacking adventure through Europe without much experience. By meeting my partner, who is a mechanic and gravel devotee, I went along with the boys, discovered the woods and realized I truly liked off road cycling. After a bikepacking trip in the Eifel, I started looking for a challenge. I was intrigued by the Silk Mountain Race and since I had been living in Morocco for a while, I decided to return there and participate in the Atlas Mountain Race. A bold challenge knowing I only got my gravel bike six months before the start of the race.
How did you prepare for the race?
I have always travelled a lot. Therefore, I know how to set up camp and spend a long time in the mountains without comfort. My partner helped me build my bike and I learned a lot from him on long distance cycling. The most important lesson he taught me was to listen to my body, anticipate a fatigue and eat regularly. I cycled a lot prior to the race and strengthened my core. A strong core compensates for tired legs.
Looking back, were you satisfied of your bike?
90% of the participants came by gravelbike and most of them agreed afterwards that an MTB would have been a better choice to overcome the more technical parts of the trail. Next time, I will also opt for an MTB, however I must say that you build a relationship with your bike. This bond feels very special. My bike never let me down. Something that has been of value to me was a bikefitting. I was not sitting correctly on my bike which caused pressure points. Because of the advice of the bikefitter I went to see a physiotherapist who solved my problem. Sometimes a small change can make a big difference. Worth the money.
When did you feel the most vulnerable?
I got my period on the third day. My legs felt heavy, my back hurt. I felt very weak. I didn’t take enough rest and it got worse. At that moment, I felt vulnerable, being so sick and alone in the middle of nowhere. Later I learned that it probably was dehydration symptoms. Having your periods can trigger these symptoms. Other women taking part in the race also got their periods unexpectedly. Intense efforts have an impact on your hormone balance. Quite some professional cyclists don’t even get their periods at all for years. This can have a big impact on your life so it’s a point of attention for all women out there.
Talking about periods, which other differences have you experienced cycling the race as a woman?
Initially, I didn’t think about the differences as I have always cycled with men. I don’t have female friends who take on the same challenges. First of all, you need to secure your place in the group, prove that you deserve to ride along. But you’ll never be one of the guys.
I was touched by the empathy of the community in Morocco. It felt like homecoming. I don’t understand why there were so few women participating. Maybe we are more realistic and wonder why anyone would take on such an idiotic challenge (smiles). On the first day, one of the women was harassed. As a result, every woman got a message from the organization saying that we were entitled to cycle together and that this would not impact our scoring or lead to disqualification. This hit me emotionally since it prevented an equal treatment. I didn’t want to be treated as a female racer, nor as one of the boys, but just as me, a human being.
I have received an enormous amount of feedback from women after the race. I don’t attach a lot of importance to visibility but what makes me feel grateful is that because of my experience I can convince women to go out there, to live an adventure.
Any other challenges ahead?
If my budget allows, I would love to participate in the Silk Mountain Race as well as the Torino-Nice rally and the ACT3/5. But I am also looking forward to traversing the Vosges with some good friends.
How did the race change you?
You always learn from intense and all-overwhelming experiences. I can’t describe it in detail, but I am not the same as before. I guess it made me stronger. When I come across a difficult situation, I am better equipped to deal with it. Travelling and adventures like the race withdraw you from your normal rhythm. In such a period you have time to reflect. When returning to normal life, you tend to look with a helicopter view. I have been thinking about the period running up to the race. I have been focused on my training so much that I think I have been too egocentric. I haven’t been there enough for my friends. I self-reflected on that and know I will do it differently next time. After the race, I also made some illustrations to tell my story on Komoot and for Sour Bicycles.
Does cycling influence your work as an artist?
My love for the pristine and desolate landscapes forms part of my work and my sports. It’s all connected because it comes from inside me. It is a whole and all relevant. I have been intrigued in Morocco by the different strata and how the plates inch on top of each other. I don’t know yet how this will be reflected in my work. I don’t translate my outdoor experiences literally in my work, but they rather influence it. I am also interested in the underground water channels and how dams have been set up in Morocco. I hope to collaborate with a Moroccan friend to create something related to that. Morocco is an amazing country to work in because it has so much variety: the coast, steppe, the Anti-Atlas as part of the Atlas, the sand dunes in the Sahara. I want to find out the relation between cooperation’s, the political situation and a landscape. I want to get more insight on why a landscape changes and if there is an underlying story.
That brings me to a theme that regularly pops up in your work which is the waste of the earth. Do you feel a responsibility to contribute to something bigger than yourself?
I don’t want to be casted as a greenpeace or eco-artist in search of a better world. However, as an artist you have a responsibility. You have another train of thoughts, a deeper consciousness and approach things in another way which causes you to play an important role in confronting people with a situation or with themselves. I tell a story in an esthetic way. I believe that true change happens at a higher level. Big multinationals set the rules and define politics. These are processes which are difficult to influence as an artist. Therefore, the view from my atelier is often bleak and I hope to communicate one day at the same level as politicians and big corporations. For now, I am very happy to be able to make people reflect on the world and make them realize how they can contribute to make it better and kinder.
I notice you love to work with natural materials. Can you tell us a bit more about that?
Currently I am focused on sand. We have built cities all over the world. We need sand to build our homes and now it is becoming scarce. There is a big political debate ongoing about sand. Apparently, the sand of Morocco can’t be used because it’s too fine. This kind of evolutions cause me to start thinking and wonder how things develop.
I also work a lot with mirrors in my installations. I’m interested in the psychological behaviour of people. Our way of behaving is often an expression of uncertainty or the inability to cope with something. After my trip to Iceland, I wanted to use black mirrors as they blend better into the landscape. My dream is to make a big installation on a spot that you can’t just see, that you have to discover. It’s sad to see that wilderness is being destroyed and becoming rare.
Was creativity part of your childhood?
Being creative felt evident. We have always been allowed to do anything. My dad is an engineer and during the weekend I went with him to his workshop. There, my imagination could go wild and I could create things. As a kid I found that very stimulating since I could use all kind of machinery. This led to not being afraid to make big installations. If I look at my parents now, there is still this mindset of ‘everything is possible’. If something seems difficult, there is always a solution. They help me figure out the road on how to get there.
How does where you live influence your creativity?
It’s been a very conscious and important decision to live in Rotterdam. I have lived six months in Indonesia before coming here. I got the chance to work in a gallery over there and make an installation. That made me realize the direction I wanted to take. Upon return to the Netherlands I chose to live in Rotterdam because there is still a lot of room for development. In Amsterdam, almost every empty building has been given a purpose. In Rotterdam young initiatives still have a chance. I am living in Crooswijk which was until a few years ago the poorest neighbourhood in the Netherlands. It is squeezed in between two prosperous neighbourhouds and lacks culture and an art scene. I found an atelier of 300m2 which helped me launch a lot of initiatives and collaborate with others to have a positive impact on the area. I’m currently establishing a foundation and surrounded myself with people that can contribute and add value to the organization. My pitfall is to get ahead of myself. It takes a lot of time and effort to accomplish something you can be proud of, I should not lose myself in that.
Your Instagram profile is Avoid the avoid?
Yes, I want people to look at themselves and dare to dig a bit deeper. We should be able to face reality and reflect on ourselves. To learn, to fail, to understand where our behavioural patterns come from and to become a better person. That’s why as a metaphorical element, I often use mirrors in my work. I’m creating platforms for reflection, to change.
How are you living the quarantaine, how does COVID impact your dreams?
I wonder what summer will look like. I had to cancel some interesting projects like a residency in China. I also have a collaboration with artist-run exhibition spaces in the US (Tiger Strikes Asteroid) with whom I was planning an exchange over summer. We seek to build an ethos of cooperative achievement in visual arts, creating the physical and emotional space for artists to show their work and exchange ideas on their own terms. The artist-run model expands the role of the artist beyond that of creative practitioner to include the roles of curator, critic and community developer and provides an alternate model to the conventions of the current commercial art market. Postponement of such a project feels disappointing, but such projects are being replaced by other heartwarming projects. In the end, we are still allowed to go outside, we can do sports, there is no war. Therefore, I would say I am blessed.
Words: Sofie Schuer
Photo Credits: Maarten de Groot for i-ris.cc / Lian van Leeuwen / Jonathan Hines
Illustrations: Quinda Verheul