The 1999 Stedelijk Museum catalogue ISL describes Hooghiemstra's work as follows: "Hooghiemstra... travels a lot and also works regularly for long periods in other countries - among which Ireland enjoys a certain preference. All that Hooghiemstra thinks, feels, reads and sees, but particularly the associations which these call up for him, is recorded in his work. His direct manner of working, and chiefly the way in which often semi-abstract visual elements are included in it, creates the possibility for the viewer to feel a deep involvement with it, without knowing the precise background in which the work came into being, in much the same way as one looks at symbols in the sand."