Written, created and performed by Alba
Van Gogh depicts Sien Hoornik as a woman scarred by life, and saw parallels to his own drawings of age-old trees ravaged by nature, such as The Roots in Sandy Ground (Les racines) 1882:
“I wanted to express something of life’s struggle, both in that white slender female figure and in those gnarled black roots with their knots.”
SIEN Vincent Van Gogh’s forbidden love
Over a period of several hours, in an open ending immersive experience, guests are invited to visit Sien as she brings to life Vincent Van Gogh’s drawings through a series of performances.
“I took that woman as a model and worked with her the whole winter. I couldn’t give her a model’s full daily wage, but all the same, I paid her rent and have until now been able, thank God, to preserve her and her child from hunger and cold by sharing my own bread with her. When I met this woman, she caught my eye because she looked ill. I made her take baths and as many fortifying remedies, as I could afford, she’s become much healthier. I went with her to Leiden, where there’s a maternity hospital she’ll go to for her confinement. No wonder she was ill, the child was the wrong way round and she had to have an operation, which entailed turning the child with forceps. Still, there’s a good chance that she’ll come through it all right. She’ll have the baby in June.”
Vincent Van Gogh’s letter to his brother Theo Van Gogh