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object art

Object art

TAMTAM’s theatre performances are crossovers between theatre and visual arts. So it’s not surprising that Gérard Schiphorst and Marije van der Sande also make visual art with found objects. Object art. Often their work has a high level of theatricality. The performance has come to a standstill and goes on in the imagination of the viewer. Some of the works on display are still for sale.

Discarded
The beauty of the ephemeral and the talents of the discarded are the ingredients of both the performances and the visual work. Both arise from the material. The objects are stored in TAMTAM’s extensive collection of worthless items. When new work is created, there are object auditions to discover their talents, the stories and content hidden within the objects and materials themselves.

Watching with a different eye
The resulting work allows the viewer to see the things that seem worthless in a different way. At TAMTAM, they are treated with care and given a new life as stars in the theater or leading actors in visual work. And so, the transformation of what most people pass by, what lay in the gutter, on the street in the rain, in a corner of a shed amidst the trash, becomes visible. Once admitted to the shelter for orphaned objects, they can recover and have hope for a new future. The final works immerse the viewer in the story behind these things. They have the feel of theatre scenes that have come to a standstill. And just like in the performances, the viewer is invited to create their own story in their own minds.

Connected content
We live in a time when people can be discarded at will, hunted down as scum, a time when a human life can suddenly prove worthless. The connection with the worthless material in Studio TAMTAM’s work is quickly made. The care, attention, and love with which

Exhibitions
The object art can regularly be seen at exhibitions. Some examples from the past: Tafelhalle (Nürnberg, Germany), Kröller-Müller Museum (Otterlo), Oerol (Terschelling), Concordia (Enschede), Kunstenlab (Deventer), DRU factory (Ulft). Gallery De Kunsten (Deventer), Bergkerk (Deventer), Bookstore Praamstra (Deventer), Park Randenbroek (Amersfoort), MIMIK (Deventer), Museum Jan Cunen (Oss)

In 2021, TAMTAM realized a theatrical installation in the new Toy Museum in Deventer, which also includes visual work.

Check the photo page with artworks here

Object art highlight

Studio TAMTAM object art exhibition at Museum Eicas this summer

The Secret Life Objects

Studio TAMTAM Object art summer exhibition at Museum EICAS in Deventer
From May 11 to September 15, 2026.

The Secret Life Objects is an eclectic and adventurous journey through what came up during the 46-year theater career of Gérard Schiphorst and Marije van der Sande as autonomous work and as powerful images in performances. Found objects play the leading role in tender assemblages, unsettling images, graphic staging, and theatrical installations.

The entire basement of Museum EICAS is filled with this exhibition about how we, the makers of TAMTAM: Gérard Schiphorst and Marije van der Sande, give found objects a new dimension. Much new work and also many stage props transformed into artworks.

Vermin
Time is on our side: Ice Age

Museum EICAS is a museum originally dedicated to the Nul art or the Zero movement. In recent years, it has developed more broadly, with an orientation towards other art inspired by the NUL artists.

During the period of our exhibition, the ground floor of Eicas displays work by the last surviving Nul artist Jan Henderikse, who also works with found objects. Together, this guarantees a special exhibition!

Escape to the country
Health and Happines

 

more object art
Art in Deventer Toy museum
Now who ‘s a good doggie?
(Never forget your) ROOTS
Objectomania Animal Museum – Object art installation