The Cowboys of the Sea




The Cowboys of the Sea
by Isabelle Van Zeijl
archival pigments on non-glare acrylic, frameless
50” x 80” | ed. of 6 + 2AP
Available on demand
THE COWBOYS OF THE SEA
Some places don’t just exist—they breathe,whisper, and move through time untouched. Sumba is one of those places. Isolated, wild, and steeped in spiritual tradition, it is a land where horses run free, the ocean stretches infinitely, and the earth holds stories waiting to be unveiled. It is here, in this sacred place, that I embarked on a new journey, one that deepened my way of seeing and creating, reinforcing my instinct to surrender to the moment and let the unseen emerge. I have always been drawn to freedom, surrender, and the unseen forces that guide us. My work has taken me to extraordinary places—diving into the depths of the ocean in the Bahamas, where I swam freely, weightless, immersed in infinite potential; journeying through the vast Rocky Mountains, where I observed the wild horses moving as one with the land, untamed and instinctual; and to the silent conversations with horses, where I learned that true connection is built on trust, not control. Sumba, however, was an experience unlike any other. It demanded that I went even further, giving up everything I knew and had learned before—adapting to the conditions, the rhythm of the herd, and the unpredictability of their movements. They were free, uncontrollable, existing in a state of pure freedom. I asked myself, how do I capture freedom? How do I open myself up to the unknown, to new ways of seeing, to that which wants to be revealed? This is what Sumba taught me..