The Collector

Isabelle Vaverka is an art director and lives with her boyfriend Lode.

The Artwork

This piece is titled “Lode”, 2014 and was created by the photographer Lonneke van der Palen. I really wanted to give my boyfriend a work of art for his birthday, but I didn’t know where to begin. I thought it would be a nice idea to ask one of my friends working in the world of photography, but every time I looked at some work I was always missing that connection to him and why the work would suit him.

After not finding anything that I felt really suited Lode, I talked it over with the photographer and friend Lonneke van der Palen, and that’s when the idea to creating something specifically for him was born. Lonneke and I had worked together before so I knew her working process and I really wanted to do something together with her. I secretly drove to her studio in Den Haag on a Sunday morning, with a backpack full of Lode’s things, and Lonneke and I spent an entire day trying out all kinds of arrangements with the objects. She directed and I was her assistant.

All the objects in the photograph are connected to a personal story; it’s a kind of visual snapshot. I hope that Lode will still enjoy the photograph in ten years time, and that all of the memories will come back to him.

I secretly drove to her studio in Den Haag on a Sunday morning, with a backpack full of Lode’s things, and Lonneke and I spent an entire day trying out all kinds of arrangements with the objects.

ISABELLE VAVERKA

Tips & Tricks

Just start small and if at all possible have a personal conversation with the artist.

The “Art of Collecting” series is an initiative of the Young Collectors Circle and Laura Hein.