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Tempted to live as loud islands in everyday life, we are often abducted by the compulsive system that convinces the human mind we cannot walk barefoot on the earth or smell the fresh spring grass in silence. Stimulated by echoes from the outside, we become hypnotized by

"the thing" that keeps the mind addicted to numbness—disconnecting us from feeling or sensing. It’s time to believe in a portal between the physical world and our translucent inner paradise.


The gate appears when the human eye rests on the propulsive flow of river water, follows an ant carrying a branch, touches the textured surface of a stone or breathes the air of a cloud that moves through the sky.

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By engaging with these moments, the desire for sovereignty diminishes and the anthropocentric worldview is reframed. It draws us into a deeper understanding: the islands we live on are all interconnected beneath the surface, originating from the same source. As humans, animals, and all living creatures, we are all created from the same essence called nature.

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My fascination with the underlying source of a greater connection to nature stems from fragile moments in early childhood, when the brain instinctively searches for a rock to lean on. That primary rock didn’t provide the stability it needed—it shattered into smaller pieces with just a soft breeze hitting its surface.

Hidden messages were everywhere, and as time passed, the pieces slowly formed a single rock again—this time with a different surface.

From this meaning, and through questioning the existence of life, I create symbolic scenes using watercolor and (color) pencil-based techniques.

The layered quality of the materials also reflects back at me, like a mirror held up to the times we live in. It stands in contrast to the fast-paced world and encourages the creation of slow art.

Each scene tells its own organic story, but often acts as a window into another scene—forming a chain of deeper essence, inviting the mind to wander.

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©carlynwesterink
d r e a m i n g  o f  s m a l l e r  w o r l d s  (2023)                                                                                                                       

Kampen, the Netherlands (1995) 

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​​for commissions or other questions

info@carlynwesterink.nl 

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studio visit

NDSM-Plein 61 Amsterdam

© 2025 Carlyn Westerink

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