Tinker is a group exhibition I curated for VHDG in 2026, about tinkering, failing and starting all over again.

Tinker: in English, it means crafting and improvising, but in Frisian, it means thinker or philosopher. At first glance they seem like two very different activities, tinkering and contemplating, but is it possible to practice them simultaneously?

In the exhibition Tinker, I brought together various creative practices. Artists, designers, activists, and other tinkers attempt to make the world a little more livable and beautiful – for themselves and others, from Fryslân and far beyond. They tinker, build, mess around, play, experiment, gamble, fail, fumble, and start again. Through the act of making, these tinkers explore themes such as magic, play, violence, time, the mundane, liberation and spirituality. In doing so, they work – together or alone – towards a better existence. The exhibition gathers the playful and the peculiar: from beachcomber clocks to cosmic amulets, from attempts at flight to snowmen, and from phallic posters to glitter weapons, ancient stone drawings, and activist camps. These are attempts to pry life loose from its hinges. The tinkers craft their lives together through play, protest, dreams, action and ritual. The exhibition invites you to start tinkering yourself: by making, failing, and starting all over again.