Hello, my name is Marjoke van de Plassche and I’m from The Netherlands.
Originally trained as a biologist, I switched to the art world later in life. I completed my art education at NAU in 2016 and in the years that followed made large spatial installations that you could walk through and incorporated sound in the form of spatial soundscapes. Even now I am still active as a visual artist.
At the same time I followed my art education, I also started to meditate. I took weekly meditation classes, and participated in meditation retreats at sacred locations around the world. During one of the retreats in Bali we attended a ‘sound bath’, an immersion in the sound of Balinese instruments…
That was a life-changing experience for me! Lying on my mat, I let the sounds flow over me, and all kinds of things happened. For the first time I discovered what sound can set in motion within your body and subsequently in your mind. It was incredible!
The soundscapes that I developed after this first sound experience increasingly contained special instruments, such as RAV drums, Sansulas and Koshi wind chimes. I discovered that sounds could completely transform the exhibition space, and that the visitors immediately changed upon entering once they were enveloped in sound. Their eyes brightened, as if the sound filtered away a veil of grayness. They relaxed, and started to move differently. These artworks led to a wonderful new kind of conversations.
In 2024 I decided to take the leap towards sound healing, and immediately completed two sound courses one after another:
- the training to become a Peter Hess sound masseur, during which I learned to work with placing Tibetan singing bowls on the body
- the training as a sound healer at The Sound Healers Academy (USA), during which I learned to use crystal singing bowls for a meditative sound bath, both physically and online.
It feels like it’s come full circle. Sound unites all the steps I have taken from a new perspective. Biology is reflected in the way the sounds affect the body.
The relaxation that sounds bring coincides with my meditation experiences.
And to me, every sound massage and sound bath is like weaving an invisible sound artwork, a creative process in which I intuitively supplement the basic steps I learned during my two trainings with what is needed at that moment.
All in all, I am very grateful that I can and am allowed to do this work!
Have a look at my visual artworks on my portfolio website:
“If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.”
Nikola Tesla