info@jaapderuig.nl
Jaap
de
Ruig
is
a
visual
artist
and
filmmaker
who
lives
both
in
Amsterdam
and
in
his
wooden
gypsy
caravan
in
the
Dutch
polder.
In
his
artwork
animals
or
symbolized
animals
play
an
important
role.
Animal
life
as
a
metaphor
for
human
life,
or
the
human
attitude
towards
animals.
His
work
has
been
shown
in
exhibitions
in
museums
and
art
galleries
across
Europe, as well as at numerous video festivals.
When
De
Ruig
was
in
his
early
twenties
and
went
through
a
difficult
period,
he
left
home
and
ended
up
in
France,
where
he
was
immersed
in
the
earthly.
He
herded
goats,
milked
them,
made
cheese,
dung
the
stable
and
chopped
wood.
It
changed
his
life.
Another
turning
point
was
getting
to
know
his
girlfriend
Mariët
Meester.
They
went
around
with
a
horse
and
gypsy
wagon
and
were
treated
like
tramps.
They
hiked
with
a
donkey
through
Andalusia,
traveled
through
India
and
became friends with Roma in Romania.
At
first
Jaap
de
Ruig
used
photography
to
capture
the
world,
but
he
realized
that
it
was
more
important
for
him
to
work
in
the
opposite
direction:
from
the
inside
out.
Visual
art
gives
the possibility for analysis and reflection.
Animals
became
a
fixture
in
his
work.
Through
them
he
investigates
the
dark
sides
of
existence;
suffering,
death,
the
struggle
between
man
and
nature
and
between
people.
He
likes to use humor to put that struggle into perspective.
Between
October
2003
and
October
2004
Jaap
de
Ruig
undertook
a
one-year
journey,
the
Screening
Europe
Tour
.
Along
the
way,
he
gave
twenty-six
film
shows
with
a
selection
of
his
video
work.
Screening
Europe
was
also
a
way
for
the
artist
to
screen
Europe
and
see
the
similarities
between
the
inhabitants, but the cultural differences as well.
Once
living
in
the
city
of
Amsterdam
and
being
less
and
less
in
contact
with
animals,
the
artist
started
to
use
his
own
body
as
an
easy
to
manipulate
beast.
In
2005
The
Burden
,
a
video
installation
with
two
projectors,
was
one
of
the
first
results.
High
on
a
wall
De
Ruig
stands
behind
an
open
window.
He
lifts
a
stone
from
the
windowsill,
raises
it
above
his
head
and
drops
it.
At
that
moment
a
second
projector
takes
over.
The
stone
hits
the
ground
in
a
circle
of
light.
As
the
stone
wobbles
back
and
forth,
the
head
of
the
artist
appears
to
be
locked
up
in
it.
Slowly
the
stone
/
the
head
dissolves
in
the
floor.
Since
2011
this
video
installation
is
permanently
installed
in
Amsterdam
University
Medical
Center.
In
2007
Jaap
de
Ruig
made
a
series
of
life-size
video
installations
called
The
Army
of
Split
Souls
.
They
were
exposed
the
same
year
in
a
monumental
solo
show
at
art
gallery
RAM
in Rotterdam.
In
2009
Jaap
de
Ruig
completed
The
Source
-
One
Day
In
A
Roma
Settlement
In
Romania
,
a
film
that
premiered
at
the
International
Film
Festival
Rotterdam.
Hidden
deep
in
the
hills,
around
350
people
live
in
handmade
huts.
The
film
starts
with
long,
static
shots
of
the
beginning
of
a
new
morning.
A
pastoral
way
of
life
takes
off:
herding
cows
and
horses,
getting
water
from
the
source
etc.
In
the
afternoon
suddenly
the
fat
is
in
the
fire.
People
scream
and
threaten
each
other.
Little
by
little
the
serene
atmosphere
returns,
but
while
the
sun
is
going
down
the
after
effects
of
the
quarrel
are still audible.
Between
2011
and
2015
De
Ruig
undertook
the
project
What
David
Sees
,
in
which
he
cooperated
with
a
young
Romanian
man
who
asked
for
a
photocamera
to
capture
daily
life
in
the
Roma
neighbourhood
where
he
lives.
The
project
yielded
6000
pictures,
a
video
installation,
a
book
and
a
documentary.
Commissioned
by
the
Museum
of
Contemporary
Art
De
Domijnen
in
Sittard
the
artist
created
in
2017
The
Living
Wagon,
That's
Me.
He
cooperated
with
travellers
in
the
area,
who
lent
him
their
miniature
living
wagons.
Apart
from
an
installation
It
resulted
in
a
short
documentary
in
which
the
owners
explained
why
the
miniature
wagons
are
so
important to them.
In
recent
years
our
strange
attitude
towards
farm
animals
has
become
Jaap
de
Ruig’s
central
theme.
The
first
results
have
been
shown
during
the
event
An
Animal
/
A
Human
Being
in
2018
in
Amsterdam,
which
consisted
of
a
symposium,
an
exhibition,
and
a
video
projection
on
the
windows
of
five
canal houses..
In
2020
Jaap
de
Ruig
founded
his
own
publishing
house,
Uitgeverij
Caprae
.
The
name
is
a
tribute
to
goats
(latin:
caprae),
the
animals
that
once
saved
him
physically
and
psychologically.
Although
goats
are
often
associated
with
deforestation
and
desertification,
it
is
the
goatherd
(mankind)
who
is
responsible.
For
every
publication
of
Uitgeverij
Caprae
a
consideration
is
made
about
the
environmental
consequences.
Jaap
de
Ruig
is
responsable
for
the design, photography, illustrations and production
.
In
2021
the
artist
finished
DON'T
PANIC
-
One
Year
in
Lockdown
on
150m²
of
Polder
Land
.
In
the
56
minute
film
he
follows
the
rhythm
of
the
seasons
in
an
unsightly
piece
of
land
in
the
Netherlands,
where
nature
stoically
refrains
from
any
reaction to the human consternation about a pandemic.
The
year
2022
was
marked
by
the
project
The
Merry
Pig
,
as
a
commentary
on
the
way
modern
humans
deal
with
pigs.
While
this
species
is
kept
worldwide
in
the
daylight-poor
barns
of
factory
farming,
a
video
installation
on
the
windows
of
four
Amsterdam
canal
houses
showed
how
the
herd
of
an
organic
pig
farmer
is
having
fun
around
a
mud
puddle.
The
accompanying
exhibition
was
subtitled
'Irony
for
children
(and
grown
ups)'.
In
twenty-five
small
oil
paintings,
the
artist
shows
how
man
deludes
himself
by
depicting
the
livestock
he
treats
the
worst
in
figurines
and
toys
as
droll
creatures
displaying supposedly human behavior.
The
acquisition
in
2023
of
a
nineteenth-century
painting
with
cows
in
a
tranquil
landscape
triggered
a
feeling
of
happiness
in
the
artist,
even
though
the
painting
was
damaged
and
had
a
hole
in
it.
Now
that
the
climate
crisis
can
no
longer
be
denied
and
humanity
is
finally
waking
up,
this
is
the
starting
point
for
new
2024
video
work
The
Incredible
Beauty
of
Organic
Farming
.
Because
even
though
the
world
as
we
know
it
will
change,
there
are
farmers
who
do
things
differently,
who
show
that
there
is
a
reality
that
can
offer
the
prospect
of
a livable future.
Facebook - Instagram
Jaap
de
Ruig
regularly
posts
an
image
from
his
archive
on
Facebook,
Instagram,
Youtube
and
Vimeo.
Videoclips
or
fragments of videos have been uploaded too.
Instagram
Facebook
YouTube
Vimeo
Statement
Video
and
film
make
use
of
existing
reality
in
order
to
create
a new reality, which investigates the existing one.
JAAP DE RUIG
Book preview EEN DIER / EEN MENS
Jaap
de
Ruig
is
a
visual
artist
and
filmmaker
who
lives
both
in
Amsterdam
and
in
his
wooden
gypsy
caravan
in
the
Dutch
polder.
In
his
artwork
animals
or
symbolized
animals
play
an
important
role.
Animal
life
as
a
metaphor
for
human
life,
or
the
human
attitude
towards
animals.
His
work
has
been
shown
in
exhibitions
in
museums
and
art
galleries
across
Europe,
as
well
as
at
numerous
video festivals.
When
De
Ruig
was
in
his
early
twenties
and
went
through
a
difficult
period,
he
left
home
and
ended
up
in
France,
where
he
was
immersed
in
the
earthly.
He
herded
goats,
milked
them,
made
cheese,
dung
the
stable
and
chopped
wood.
It
changed
his
life.
Another
turning
point
was
getting
to
know
his
girlfriend Mariët Meester.
They
went
around
with
a
horse
and
gypsy
wagon
and
were
treated
like
tramps.
They
hiked
with
a
donkey
through
Andalusia,
traveled
through
India
and
became
friends
with Roma in Romania.
At
first
Jaap
de
Ruig
used
photography
to
capture
the
world,
but
he
realized
that
it
was
more
important
for
him
to
work
in
the
opposite
direction:
from
the
inside
out.
Visual
art
gives
the
possibility
for
analysis
and
reflection.
Animals
became
a
fixture
in
his
work.
Through
them
he
investigates
the
dark
sides
of
existence;
suffering,
death,
the
struggle
between
man
and
nature
and
between
people.
He
likes
to
use
humor
to
put
that
struggle
into
perspective.
Between
October
2003
and
October
2004
Jaap
de
Ruig
undertook
a
one-year
journey,
the
Screening
Europe
Tour
.
Along
the
way,
he
gave
twenty-six
film
shows
with
a
selection
of
his
video
work.
Screening
Europe
was
also
a
way
for
the
artist
to
screen
Europe
and
see
the
similarities
between
the
inhabitants,
but
the
cultural differences as well.
Once
living
in
the
city
of
Amsterdam
and
being
less
and
less
in
contact
with
animals,
the
artist
started
to
use
his
own
body
as
an
easy
to
manipulate
beast.
In
2005
The
Burden
,
a
video
installation
with
two
projectors,
was
one
of
the
first
results.
High
on
a
wall
De
Ruig
stands
behind
an
open
window.
He
lifts
a
stone
from
the
windowsill,
raises
it
above
his
head
and
drops
it.
At
that
moment
a
second
projector
takes
over.
The
stone
hits
the
ground
in
a
circle
of
light.
As
the
stone
wobbles
back
and
forth,
the
head
of
the
artist
appears
to
be
locked
up
in
it.
Slowly
the
stone
/
the
head
dissolves
in
the
floor.
Since
2011
this
video
installation
is
permanently
installed
in
Amsterdam
University
Medical Center.
In
2007
Jaap
de
Ruig
made
a
series
of
life-size
video
installations
called
The
Army
of
Split
Souls
.
They
were
exposed
the
same
year
in
a
monumental
solo
show
at
art
gallery
RAM
in
Rotterdam.
In
2009
Jaap
de
Ruig
completed
The
Source
-
One
Day
In
A
Roma
Settlement
In
Romania
,
a
film
that
premiered
at
the
International
Film
Festival
Rotterdam.
Hidden
deep
in
the
hills,
around
350
people
live
in
handmade
huts.
The
film
starts
with
long,
static
shots
of
the
beginning
of
a
new
morning.
A
pastoral
way
of
life
takes
off:
herding
cows
and
horses,
getting
water
from
the
source
etc.
In
the
afternoon
suddenly
the
fat
is
in
the
fire.
People
scream
and
threaten
each
other.
Little
by
little
the
serene
atmosphere
returns,
but
while
the
sun
is
going
down
the
after
effects
of
the
quarrel
are still audible.
Between
2011
and
2015
De
Ruig
undertook
the
project
What
David
Sees
,
in
which
he
cooperated
with
a
young
Romanian
man
who
asked
for
a
photocamera
to
capture
daily
life
in
the
Roma
neighbourhood
where
he
lives.
The
project
yielded
6000
pictures,
a
video
instal-
lation, a book and a documentary.
Commissioned
by
the
Museum
of
Contem-
porary
Art
De
Domijnen
in
Sittard
the
artist
created
in
2017
The
Living
Wagon,
That's
Me.
He
cooperated
with
travellers
in
the
area,
who
lent
him
their
miniature
living
wagons.
Apart
from
an
installation
It
resulted
in
a
short
documen-
tary
in
which
the
owners
explained
why
the
miniature wagons are so important to them.
In
recent
years
our
strange
attitude
towards
farm
animals
has
become
Jaap
de
Ruig’s
central
theme.
The
first
results
have
been
shown
during
the
event
An
Animal
/
A
Human
Being
in
2018
in
Amsterdam,
which
consisted
of
a
symposium,
an
exhibition,
and
a
video
projection
on
the
windows
of
five
canal
houses..
In
2020
Jaap
de
Ruig
founded
his
own
publishing
house,
Uitgeverij
Caprae
.
The
name
is
a
tribute
to
goats
(latin:
caprae),
the
animals
that
once
saved
him
physically
and
psychologically.
Although
goats
are
often
associated
with
deforestation
and
desertification,
it
is
the
goatherd
(mankind)
who
is
responsible.
For
every
publication
of
Uitgeverij
Caprae
a
consideration
is
made
about
the
environmental
consequences.
Jaap
de
Ruig
is
responsable
for
the
design,
photography, illustrations and production
.
In
2021
the
artist
finished
'DON'T
PANIC
-
One
Year
in
Lockdown
on
150m²
of
Polder
Land'.
In
the
56
minute
film
he
follows
the
rhythm
of
the
seasons
in
an
unsightly
piece
of
land
in
the
Netherlands,
where
nature
stoically
refrains
from
any
reaction
to
the
human
consternation
about a pandemic.
The
year
2022
was
marked
by
the
project
The
Merry
Pig
,
as
a
commentary
on
the
way
modern
humans
deal
with
pigs.
While
this
species
is
kept
worldwide
in
the
daylight-poor
barns
of
factory
farming,
a
video
installation
on
the
windows
of
four
Amsterdam
canal
houses
showed
how
the
herd
of
an
organic
pig
farmer is having fun around a mud puddle.
The
accompanying
exhibition
was
subtitled
'Irony
for
children
(and
grown
ups)'.
In
twenty-
five
small
oil
paintings,
the
artist
shows
how
man
deludes
himself
by
depicting
the
livestock
he
treats
the
worst
in
figurines
and
toys
as
droll
creatures
displaying
supposedly
human
behavior.
The
acquisition
in
2023
of
a
nineteenth-
century
painting
with
cows
in
a
tranquil
landscape
triggered
a
feeling
of
happiness
in
the
artist,
even
though
the
painting
was
damaged
and
had
a
hole
in
it.
Now
that
the
climate
crisis
can
no
longer
be
denied
and
humanity
is
finally
waking
up,
this
is
the
starting
point
for
new
2024
video
work
The
Incredible
Beauty
of
Organic
Farming
.
Because
even
though
the
world
as
we
know
it
will
change,
there
are
farmers
who
do
things
differently,
who
show
that
there
is
a
reality
that
can offer the prospect of a livable future.
Facebook - Instagram
Jaap
de
Ruig
regularly
posts
an
image
from
his
archive
on
Facebook,
Instagram,
Youtube
and
Vimeo.
Many
videoclips
or
fragments
of
videos
have been uploaded too.
Instagram
Facebook
YouTube
Vimeo
Statement
Video
and
film
make
use
of
existing
reality
in
order
to
create
a
new
reality,
which
inves-
tigates the existing one.
Book preview EEN DIER / EEN MENS:
JAAP DE RUIG
info@jaapderuig.nl