Maastricht, the town in which I was born on February 27th, 1968, and still live and work up to this very day, is mainly familiar with the detailed scale models that I make.

Yet, those models are only a small part of my artistic output.

More than anything else, I make installation art, objects and drawings. In addition, a large part of my work consists of designing exhibitions and other spatial work, with a special preference for dealing with complicated issues and ‘difficult’ locations. To a lesser extent, I touch upon the field of men’s fashion and photography. Occasionally, I create sound and light installations. Even though my work comes in a varietof expressions, themes and style show a highly unifying coherence, which can be defined as the relationship between people and their immediate environment. From the perspective of my humanist philosophy, I try to represent this theme in words and images with a peculiar humorous twist.

Since nearly twenty years I form a couple with my wife Gonnie. Beside her work as a doctor in the field of occupational health she takes part into a lot of cultural projects. Projects in Maastricht, but we cooperate also together many times. One of these projects is Saaibestrijding, in which she does a lot of the photography. Saaibestrijding ("struggle against dullness") is about some first steps toward the re-introduction of colourful and creative men's clothing, after two centuries dominated by black and grey, boring mass clothing. Often in cooperation with creative designers, makers,photographers and other enthusiastic people I create and wear "other" things, and one of them is the skirt.

For me this is nothing special, I consider the skirt as a unisex type of clothing. Let me be clear: a skirt for men is for me not the target, it is one of the many elements of Saaibestrijding.

• What kind of skirt do you wear ?

The only skirts I wear are ones that are espacially designed and made for me. I never wear anything like a skirt, originally made for women. They have another shape, and I must say that most pictures you can find on the internet of men in skirts are for that reason horrible.

• Since when do you wear skirts ?
  
  

don't remember that exactly, I think since five years or so. It depends also on the question about the definition of a skirt.

• Where do you wear skirts ?

This depends on the situation. In Maastricht I am more or less well-known as an artist/exhibition designer. To avoid that my other work would be dominated by the clothing I wear, I do not wear skirts (or other Saaibestrijding-clothing) everywhere and on every occasion. For example: On a vernissage of an exhibition I wear the most extraordinary things I have, but when I want to make photos of an old neighbourhood when travelling outside Europe I do not. Of course.

• what was your entourage's reaction :
  
  

Ha, ha, this is a nice question. My wife Gonnie is one of the biggest supporters, we both hate the completely useless traditional role men and women have in the western society and the stupid fashion etiquette which is a result of that. We think people must develop and follow there own ideas in life. In my further entourage and in public spaces my experiences are nearly only positive when wearing a skirt or 'other' things not often worn by men or in general. It seems that women like my clothing more than men, but this has perhaps more to do with the fact that men are less expressive in giving their opinion.

• For you, what is the best style to have, for a man, to make his wearing of a skirt being better accepted ?
  
  

Think about taste - everything you wear must match to the other things. And don't consider a skirt as something special. And don't wear female skirts. If you don't know where to find male skirts, than find somebody (by internet!) who can handle the sewing machine. Or make them yourself! I think that wearing a skirt is not the reason any negative reactions, it is the way how to wear it.

Internet links :

- Paul Tieman's blog