It was Van Gogh’s dream to found a collaborative art colony where fellow artists could inspire one another whilst under the same roof. When he moved, in 1888, to Arles in Southern France following a bout of bad health, he believed he’d found such a place. The Yellow House was a stucco-faced building in which Van Gogh rented several rooms and was at his most prolific.

In a deep dive of letters and artwork from Van Gogh’s time at the Yellow House, I found the phrase ‘chez nous’, or our place, was often used. This term shares the ethos of Rapha Amsterdam, to be a place where you can feel at home.

Reading these intimate letters was like uncovering the layers of texture in his paintings. It felt like we’d travelled through time into his secret world. In the visual language of the collection, I sought to emulate this through the use of collage, tearing back layers of preserved conversations, memories and art.