“I am a #WomanOfTheWater, and I have Mamma Ocean to thank for the direction my life has taken. My name is Zee and I am a self-taught artist.
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In 2014 I left my familiar life in The Netherlands behind and moved to Australia to reconnect with my creative side. I then travelled to Lombok, Indonesia to make one of my dreams come true; learning to surf. On this island everything aligned - so in 2015 I packed my life up once again. A tiny fishing village became my home, surfing a new passion, I met the love of my life, made friends and found a job.
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For three unforgettable years, I lived ‘the simple life’. In a little cabin on the hill surrounded by lush jungle, overlooking the bay where I surfed almost every day. It wasn’t all picture perfect though; the 'road' in the village turned into a mud bath during monsoon season, it rained in my bed, I had cockroaches, snakes, rats and monkeys as pets, dealt with long power cuts and the first year and a half there was no internet, to name a few examples... It was raw, real, sometimes rough, but exciting. Higher highs and lower lows. I felt alive.
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Through my job at Lombok’s first shaping bay where I learnt surfboard glassing and did lots of custom colorful surfboard art, I became obsessed with a new medium that I wanted to explore. I was seeing the ocean's textures in everything around me, and had a strong urge to try and recreate them with resin.
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Being on local Indo wages, spending a ton of money on anything else than food, petrol and transport the surf spots wasn’t really an option. But for some reason there was this raging adrenaline in my gut that told me to go for it, and I spent my year's salary to invest in materials. Half of it then got ruined due to the humid climate and Indonesian Customs. I was broke and had to borrow money to pay for my health insurance at 26 years old...” - @underthezee .
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