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Yana Poppe is a visual artist living in the Netherlands. She was uprooted from Indonesia as a baby and grew up in a predominantly white environment. Yana’s artworks mainly consist of paintings. During her study she learned how to use Japanese traditional painting techniques in Japan, something you can see in many of her paintings, where she uses pigments on Japanese (handmade) paper. Her experience with adoption has been, and still is, the main drive behind her practice. The concept of belonging and 'home' are reasons as to why she participates in artist in residences and travels around: “How would my life have been if I had grown up in this particular environment?” In recent years Yana has dived deeper into what adoption means to her. She expresses this in her songs, watercolors of Indonesian foods and drinks, and paintings of Indonesian landscapes.
Published on April 1st 2025. Artist responses collected in months previous.
Talk about some of the logistics of your art practice. What systems do you have in place to help streamline your workflows?
As I can’t afford to rent a studio, I work at home. Unfortunately I don’t have a driver’s license, so I usually let big canvases be delivered. The town where I live isn’t big and I can do most things on my bicycle. The packaging of my artworks I do myself, and I use an online service for transportation. In case the artwork is small, I bring it to the post office around the corner.
What is some advice for someone who does not have any experience who would like to pursue a career like yours?
My advice to someone who’d like to pursue a career like mine, is to keep making new artworks, and also to be brave. It is important to be brave, because if you’d like to participate in artist in residencies, for example, you have to be prepared for many rejections. I also think that it is important to put your ego aside (or let go of it), because it will bring you further along the way that is closest to your heart. I believe that this also keeps you inspired indefinitely. Lastly, I think that it is helpful to share your artwork on social media. This way people will find you, and usually they like to be updated on your latest projects.
What was the lowest point in your art career and how did you overcome those adversities?
My lowest point in my art career was when I couldn’t find any joy in painting anymore. Usually I would find joy and inspiration through the act of painting, but even that didn’t work. This was very difficult for me to process, because I missed a way to express myself, but also because it appeared that I had attached my identity to being an artist. This is something I was quite surprised about, and I actually felt somewhat disappointed in myself as if it was my own fault. It made me feel powerless and vulnerable, two things that I don’t like. After a while, I decided to use my voice as a way to express myself, so I made my first song. The newness of this got me really excited. I’m really glad that I actively searched for other ways of expression, but I never really could accept that I had stopped painting. During that time I also followed a writing course. I think that I wrote about this experience last year, or the year before.
How did you come into the type of artwork you are doing now?
I started using watercolors in 2018 during an artist in residence, because I wanted more freedom while painting. Since the artist in residence was ‘en plein air’, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to explore watercolors. At that time I felt restricted by the features of Japanese pigments. My recent project ‘Makanan & Minuman’ is inspired by my travels to Indonesia. It started in 2022 when I went to Indonesia to reunite with my Javanese mum. Taking pictures of me holding Indonesian foods and drinks is very simple, and at the same time it connected me directly to the Indonesian contemporary culture and tradition. I was discovering the taste of my culture, and these photos were a documentation of that. Making watercolors of these photos is a way for me to personalize the photos, bringing back the memories of the experience as well. My other project, which continues the “Home is around the corner” diptych that I made last year, is also about me exploring Indonesia. I write more about this project in the interview from 2023.
What was an epiphany in your art practice that took you to the next level?
I don’t think I have reached an epiphany yet, but if I had to name something, it is making songs. Somehow I experienced so much freedom in making songs. Maybe because it was much more personal. With painting I attach a lot more expectations to it. It is possible that I brought this sense of freedom back into the way I paint. I don’t perceive painting as something very demanding and serious anymore. In fact, I dare to experiment more now, not caring about my inner critic. The voice of my inner critic isn’t as loud as before.
Talk about some of the logistics of your art practice. What systems do you have in place to help streamline your workflows?
As I can’t afford to rent a studio, I work at home. Unfortunately I don’t have a driver’s license, so I usually let big canvases be delivered. The town where I live isn’t big and I can do most things on my bicycle. The packaging of my artworks I do myself, and I use an online service for transportation. In case the artwork is small, I bring it to the post office around the corner.
What is some advice for someone who does not have any experience who would like to pursue a career like yours?
My advice to someone who’d like to pursue a career like mine, is to keep making new artworks, and also to be brave. It is important to be brave, because if you’d like to participate in artist in residencies, for example, you have to be prepared for many rejections. I also think that it is important to put your ego aside (or let go of it), because it will bring you further along the way that is closest to your heart. I believe that this also keeps you inspired indefinitely. Lastly, I think that it is helpful to share your artwork on social media. This way people will find you, and usually they like to be updated on your latest projects.
What was the lowest point in your art career and how did you overcome those adversities?
My lowest point in my art career was when I couldn’t find any joy in painting anymore. Usually I would find joy and inspiration through the act of painting, but even that didn’t work. This was very difficult for me to process, because I missed a way to express myself, but also because it appeared that I had attached my identity to being an artist. This is something I was quite surprised about, and I actually felt somewhat disappointed in myself as if it was my own fault. It made me feel powerless and vulnerable, two things that I don’t like. After a while, I decided to use my voice as a way to express myself, so I made my first song. The newness of this got me really excited. I’m really glad that I actively searched for other ways of expression, but I never really could accept that I had stopped painting. During that time I also followed a writing course. I think that I wrote about this experience last year, or the year before.
How did you come into the type of artwork you are doing now?
I started using watercolors in 2018 during an artist in residence, because I wanted more freedom while painting. Since the artist in residence was ‘en plein air’, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to explore watercolors. At that time I felt restricted by the features of Japanese pigments. My recent project ‘Makanan & Minuman’ is inspired by my travels to Indonesia. It started in 2022 when I went to Indonesia to reunite with my Javanese mum. Taking pictures of me holding Indonesian foods and drinks is very simple, and at the same time it connected me directly to the Indonesian contemporary culture and tradition. I was discovering the taste of my culture, and these photos were a documentation of that. Making watercolors of these photos is a way for me to personalize the photos, bringing back the memories of the experience as well. My other project, which continues the “Home is around the corner” diptych that I made last year, is also about me exploring Indonesia. I write more about this project in the interview from 2023.
What was an epiphany in your art practice that took you to the next level?
I don’t think I have reached an epiphany yet, but if I had to name something, it is making songs. Somehow I experienced so much freedom in making songs. Maybe because it was much more personal. With painting I attach a lot more expectations to it. It is possible that I brought this sense of freedom back into the way I paint. I don’t perceive painting as something very demanding and serious anymore. In fact, I dare to experiment more now, not caring about my inner critic. The voice of my inner critic isn’t as loud as before.
Find Yana Poppe on Instagram
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