I can see clearly now// September, 2021

I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW is an experiment to enable different ways of seeing and making by Dutch jewelry designer Iris Claessens and German fine artist Paula Parole.

Having met almost a decade ago at the art academy in Maastricht, where their artistic journey began, they found themselves reunited in Maastricht for one week.

The restriction of a week was essential, as was the pre-settled exhibition space at the end of it. After all, diamonds are made under pressure, right?

The only thing they decided beforehand was the title, which the show was going to have: I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW. They liked the association it had with clearing up your mind, a sort of decluttering from the constant white noise and distraction of daily life. And in some way, it also described the situation covid and its challenges brought into lives. Challenges, that could both, confront us with uncomfortable truths, as well as rediscover the beauty of the simple things that surround us. In I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW Iris and Paula challenged themselves to walk around with open eyes and hearts to curate their perceived environment within one week together. The contrast between civilization and nature comes together, resembling the different environmental influences of Iris' base in idyllic Sibbe and Paula's base in urban London.

The exhibition is seen as a performative experience, where visitors become part of the work by choosing one of the carefully curated drinks, having a bite of bread with selfmade, flowery butter, and salt: a basis of both, German and Dutch culture. The installation playfully juxtaposes the different characters found in mundane objects: their beauty and simultaneous ugliness, their harshness and softness, their contemporary meaning, and their historical context.