Mieke de Waal

‘My aim: disarming work about the great themes of life’.
Good art captures your attention, plays with it, and lures it back when you want to return to the day’s order. I like it when art is not hermetic but open and enigmatic when it raises big questions. Who are we? Where do we come from? How do we relate to the world around us?
My three-dimensional work consists mainly of floating painted objects that bring ‘the human’ into space. I often choose a form that symbolizes the human being: from a tiny dress to a more than man-sized kimono. And now there is the installation ‘Headlines’: a
‘forest’ of floating semi-transparent strips with colorful painted portraits on them, inspired by pictures from the newspaper.
My work is tactile, seemingly fragile, colorful, often austere in form, and with a skin on which much can be experienced. Each work carries its own story. For example: about being born in a different place than where life has taken you now.
A characteristic of my work process is that I immerse myself – sometimes for months – in a particular theme. During those months I transform my ideas and emotions into one or more works of art. The actual creative process is also investigative, experimenting with materials and techniques. I like to work with canvas, map, ink, acrylic, embroidery, and other found materials. In addition to being a visual artist, I am also trained as a cultural anthropologist.
These two areas of interest – art and people – come together in my visual work.