My work is part of the ONBOARDS BIENNALE 2025.
etymology of a word
Like me, you probably think the word history has nothing to do with him or her? Well, I only found out writing this piece (eyeroll), that it sort of does! Here’s what I found:
The very origin of the word is the old greek: histōr, which means: learned, wise man! It gave rise to historia, used by the Romans and the Greek, which overtime evolved from inquiring and giving testimony, to placing more emphasis on narrative aspects. I chose the title herstory for this series of collages thinking about the storytelling part, because I wanted to tell a different story.
So, technically, history has little to do with his-story, but men do take up an immense space in the storytellings of the past. They even wrote most of it themselves, and more often than not, omitted women’s lives from those historical records…
Since the 1960s efforts have been made to recognise and include women into these retellings. Two of my favourites, by the way, are Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls and The Dead Ladies Show by Gaea Schoeters or the podcast. But there is room for more. Much more. This series is a humble contribution to it. I’m delighted they were selected for the ONBOARDS BIENNALE where they are shown in the streets of Antwerp in a much less humble size: A0!
what if?
Per definition, collages connect pieces, in this case: a precise juxtaposition between women and men. But, it’s not only about meticulously matching the pieces, it’s also about creating a new story with those pieces.
What if all those male figures (dandies, soldiers, statesmen, boy scouts, …) had been women instead? What would that change in how we see history, power, or identity?
What if women had received more opportunities to take up room politically, economically, strategically, juridically, religiously? Where would the world stand now?
(Probably no surprise, but as a feminist, I truly believe the world would be a better place, for all humans, animals and nature.)
With a dose of humour and an exacto knife, I flip the script and make herstory. Honouring real life women from the past, who went unnoticed then and take first lead now. This ongoing series invites viewers to consider not only who gets to be seen in his/herstory, but how visual culture shapes our understanding of gender roles, power, and presence. Through collage, I construct an alternate reality — one that challenges, reclaims, and imagines anew.
collage
One can consider collage as a mode of artistic representation that questions the way in which photography is truthful. There’s even something surrealistic about collages…
All my collages are made by hand, using original vintage photographs and postcards, mostly from my family’s arhcives. Every piece, once a personal or societal memory, is hand cut, pasted, coloured and brought back to life to tell a new story.
This series has had several names: Smash the Patriarchy (literally smashing women’s faces on male bodies), Who Run The World? (the men are kings, lawyers, soldiers… now suddenly these rulers became women), and finally herstory: Less drama, more content.
Each collage received a carefully chosen first name, sometimes related to the actual person in the collage, other times a woman’s name that has a direct male counterpart.
If you’re interested in the full collection, their names, sizes (comes with a cut to size passe-partout, 18x24cm or 20x20cm) and price (250€ each): send me a message/mail.
ONBOARDS BIENNALE
ONBOARDS BIENNALE launched its 9th edition themed: RELATIONSHIPS. From 14 to 28 July, Antwerp is transformed into a vibrant open-air gallery. Spread throughout the city, 100 billboards display artworks on the theme of relationships, reflecting on social, ecological, cultural and conceptual connectedness. This unique exhibition literally brings art to the streets and invites passers-by to wonder and engage in dialogue.
Through an open call, the jury selected 50 artists from 550 submissions. In addition, 20 Master’s students from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts and Sint Lucas were chosen, and 30 artists from the participating galleries and invited artists round the total to 100 participants. The jury was composed of Sarah Suzuki (MoMA NewYork), Ruth Pelzer-Montada (Edinburgh College of Art), Bruno Devos (Hopper & Fuchs) and NAV Haq (M HKA Antwerp).
By using the city as a canvas, ONBOARDS BIENNALE stimulates social interaction and public conversation. The biennale turns public space into a shared experience, centred on communication, reflection and humanity.
A QR code by every artwork tells you more about the work and the artist.
details and practicalities
ONBOARDS BIENNALE
Antwerp City map here
My work is on display at the Ossenmarkt.
14 – 28 July 2025 (day and night)