EINDHOVEN.- THE TICK by Josefin Arnell is on show in the Van Abbemuseum's The Eye (Het Oog). Last June, Arnell won the Theodora Niemeijer prize 2018, a prize especially for female visual artists in the Netherlands. The jury was inspired by the world Arnell tries to create, the tension between the playful and youthfulness on the one hand and the darker side which draws into human fear on the other side. Arnell received a check for 10,000 euros for her work. In addition, Van Abbemuseum offers a platform for her project until 28 April.

THE TICK
With THE TICK, Arnell plays with a horror scenario in which blood sucking ticks have taken over the world. They want to infect all humans with viruses.

The artist draws attention to ecological threats, such as global warming by emphasising our complicated coexistence with these creatures. In doing so, she indicates a sociological relationship towards nature and its interplay between human sensitivities and environmental changes. Arnell’s gigantic tick offers visitors the opportunity to climb the sculpture in The Eye. The work invites childlike pleasure, allowing visitors to discover and activate this mutated tick in a playful way.

Josefin Arnell
Josefin Arnell (1984) is a Swedish artist who lives and works in Amsterdam. She holds an MA from the Sandberg Institute and participated at the 2 year residency programme at the Rijksacademie van Beeldende Kunsten. Both located in Amsterdam. In her works Arnell likes to use video as a primary medium, which she complements with diverse disciplines such as installations, objects and poetry.

Theodora Niemeijer prize
The Theodora Niemeijer prize is an initiative of Stichting Niemeijer Fonds and the Van Abbemuseum to pay attention to the underrepresentation of women in the museum world. It is the only Dutch visual arts prize for women. Since 2012, the prize has been awarded once every two years to a female visual artist who lives and works in the Netherlands and graduated a maximum of five years ago. Artists such as Sarah van Sonsbeeck (2012), Sachi Myachi (2014) and Sissel Marie Tonn (2016) preceded Josefin Arnell (2018).