Ada Leenheer is a mixed media artist based in the Netherlands.

During my residency at the Fish Factory in February, I sought to move beyond the surface – both my internal and external landscape. Investigating the human condition, I embraced chaos and mystery, pushing each gesture and iteration to its limits, allowing chance and uncertainty to shape my process.

Iceland’s ferocious landscape first appeared impenetrable—fierce mountains, beautifully clear waters, and a raw, ever-changing climate. Its surface resisted, unyielding, yet beneath it pulsed a vibrant, almost vibrating energy. The longer I spent here, speaking with kind Icelandic people, the more I sensed the existence of hidden layers—realities woven into the land itself. I greeted the idea of humanlike ‘hidden people’ embedded within the nature – allowing it to seep into my practice.

These layers revealed themselves gradually. Every tear, every cut, every placement fractured the surface, exposing something deeper. My process became a dance – moving towards and away from mycanvas, letting colour and form spread and collide, uncovering what might exist beneath Iceland’s seemingly impermeable structures. The work grew through accumulation and erosion, each mark a fragment of something larger, something shifting.

Continuing my research into rhizomatic thinking (Deleuze and Guattari), I aimed to dissolve rigid logic, embracing an adjacent, wandering state of mind – focusing on the in-between. Mystery and unpredictability became part of the work itself.

The Fish Factory provided space for rest and contemplation, where my process could freely unfold. Swimming in the clear, turquoise harbour became a form of resetting too!

Thank you to Kris, Vinnie, Lukas, Haffi, and my fellow residents for proving a generous space. And to Gunnar and Petra in the stone-working space for being so kind

Website: https://www.adaleenheer.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adaleenheer/