From his ever-evolving artistic process, visual artist Daan Roukens has reinterpreted patterns and colors from his archive. In You Have To Change, To Stay The Same (Parts 1–4), each pattern is derived from an earlier painting, but the way he engages with it has changed to reflect his current approach.

A key feature of this new watercolour series is the use of a non-solvent that reacts with the underlying paint layer. Watercolour is fluid: it either flows freely or not at all, and even when dry, it remains soluble. By adding this non-solvent, Roukens achieves a transparent finish that stabilises the colours, sometimes preventing the usual flow, or conversely, causing the new paint layer to be repelled. These technical choices aren’t simply visual disruptions, they are intentional acts of breaking away from rigid structures. They reflect the struggle with Roukens’ obsessive perfectionism and his ongoing search for that sublime in-between moment, where pattern and breakthrough encounter each other.

As always in his work, the process is essential. By revisiting and reworking earlier pieces, he reflects on past decisions and observes the development of his artistic approach. Each abstract self-portrait reveals the way his mind operates: constantly balancing the tensions between order and chaos, pattern and rupture – or in this case, soluble versus insoluble. The work captures the ongoing push and pull of Roukens’ inner conflicts and doubts.