We Are MA: Doron Beuns, MA Fine Art

What drove you to study Fine Art at NUA?

The interview I had with Marie Brennan initially drove me to study Fine Art at NUA. It seemed like Marie understood the context and conceptual kernel of art practice. She immediately linked my work to the resources that would be available at NUA and I really liked that pragmatism.

Can you tell me a bit about your practice?

I think my work revolves around the absurdity and hysteria of the current world. At my Master’s degree I started exploring this through a series of self-portraits that were produced and then destroyed by involving various human and non-human agents. After graduation, I moved towards merging abstracted hand-made versions of my self-portrait with industrially produced objects. Currently, I am making figurative prints and assemblages that are actually not intended as self-representational. Instead, these works intend to represent the dualities of our human condition more generally. I find it quite fascinating that we as humans are torn between animalistic impulses and rational thinking.

Why is your practice important to you?

My art practice is important to me because it allows me to act upon my creative impulses. I feel most present, alive and inquisitive when making new work. I am not suggesting that my art practice always makes me feel happy or at ease, but my art practice pushes me to utilise all my resources and competences. I like the idea of not wasting anything.

When you reflect on your time at NUA, what do you feel proudest about? Is there something that’s taken you on a particularly rewarding journey?

I am most proud of the work for my MA graduation show. The work very much depended on the expertise, politics and help of other people. It took the presentation of my work to another level and I am grateful for that. This great collaborative experience confirmed my hypothesis; making a self-portrait requires something other than yourself. That realisation is still taking me on a very rewarding journey.

What inspired you about your lecturers, technicians and fellow students?

I am very fortunate to have encountered the friends, lecturers and technicians that I did on my NUA adventure. It was very inspiring to see how students and tutors from very different disciplines and interests were able to meaningfully engage with each other’s practices.

What have you been doing since leaving NUA?

It has been a crazy ride. Since leaving NUA, I moved to Amsterdam. I wrote for XIBT Magazine about contemporary art and worked as an interior designer for SieMatic. At the same time, I also rebooted my art practice, participated in various exhibitions and worked on setting up a product design company with Etienne Cootjans. This last year I started working on the art direction of singer/songwriter Ella Alex and started consulting creative professionals on the integration of Web3 in their business model. This all organically developed next to my studio practice, where I have been preparing new work for my first solo exhibition at Usual Business in London. Doron’s solo exhibition “A Transformative moment” is showing in Camden, London at the Usual business gallery in June 2022. See more of Doron’s work on his Instagram. Discover MA Fine Art (opens in a new window)