Meltdown

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Front view of two small house models with symmetrical windows, a central door, and a garage, sharply lit against a black backdrop.

Meltdown began as a 1:20 dollhouse model of a deserted Dutch farmhouse, recreated from the cheesemaker’s memory and later melted in the studio. Using cheese wax as both building material and metaphor, the work reflects on memory’s fragility - how homes and lives can shift, deform, or vanish under external pressures.

The house models in a fully deformed state, slumped into irregular, folded shapes with distorted rooflines and softened architectural details.

Two small house models with pitched roofs and detailed windows and doors placed side by side on a white surface against a dark background.

The same two house models shown partially collapsed and softened, with roofs and walls sagging and folding inward.

Close-up of a small house model showing a garage door with cross-braced panels and a dormer window above, lit dramatically against a dark background.

In 2021, I had the unique opportunity to live and work for three months at a deserted farmhouse and former cheese factory in Lochem - places marked for demolition and disappearance. There, I set up a temporary on-site laboratory to explore how local materials and traditional craftsmanship techniques respond to the architectural, historical, and emotional context of the site.

During that time, I recreated a 1:20 dollhouse-sized model of the farmhouse based on the cheesemaker’s memory of his former home. I also tested cheese wax as a sculptural material at full 1:1 scale.

Months later, in June 2022, reality echoed the work: the Dutch government introduced strict nitrogen reduction measures, leading to the forced closure of many farms - places that were not only workplaces, but homes and lives. The cheesemaker’s house - his dream and his memory - was melted in the studio by gradually increasing the temperature.

Meltdown became a reflection on the fragility of memory - how it can shift, deform, or disappear under external pressure. Cheese wax, with its soft, flexible structure, became a metaphor for memory itself: vulnerable, shapeable, and deeply tied to place.

Wax model of a Dutch farmhouse, based on memory, to mirror the real-life disappearance of local farms.

Project:

Daria Khozhai

Year:

2022

Video and Photography:

Jouke Bos

Made possible with

Creative Industries Fund NL