Martín La Roche Contreras & Mirthe Berentsen: Sandplay

About the Exhibition

Sandplay is an ongoing collaboration between Mirthe Berentsen and Martín La Roche. Their work explores the transformative value of memories and storytelling posing the question: how do personal objects shape our stories and connect us to others? The collaboration originated from the artists’ experiences at the Beautiful Distress artist-in-residence program at Kings County Hospital in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. Their work interweaves personal and shared narratives, reflecting on how we remember and describe moments that define our lives and our connections to one another.

At the heart of Sandplay is a participatory installation inspired by Jungian psychoanalyst Dora Kalff and her hands-on therapeutic method. A sandbox accompanied by an eclectic collection of objects—miniatures, ceramics, natural materials, and everyday trinkets—becomes a space where visitors create and share their own narratives. By embracing storytelling as a communal act, this project seeks to cultivate collective curiosity and care. Berentsen and La Roche embrace the temporary and the transient to explore the gap between the tangible world and the words we use to remember and describe it. Their work uplifts the value of memories and art’s role in providing a space to speak to our collective experience of remembering and letting go.

For more information or to schedule a tour, email pcgalleries@providence.edu.