Love for material and the need to unravel, understand and experiment with materials are an important basis for Marieke van Mieghem’s visual work. Growing flax with a group of Linen Stewards in the Arnhem area, and using it together with materials collected in nature for her works, she feels connected to it and has a desire to fully embrace the material.
In her work, Marieke interweaves this connection with personal themes about what it means to be able to wonder; to see beauty and lightness even in the small. And how working with nature can bring you into balance and create a greater connection with yourself and others.
Marieke and Loes Schepens met on the flax field in Hemmen in 2020. It soon turned out that they shared their love of nature and curiosity for materials. Not only that, in the course of their growing friendship they start working together to get to the depth of the flax they grow. They teach each other the techniques of papermaking, spinning, making paper thread and weaving. They collect natural dyes (often provided again by other linen stewards) and colour the flax using various techniques. They give workshops, courses and create artworks that arise naturally through the processes they experience.
The ‘From the earth’ exhibition showcases the collaboration between these artists and lets you experience the endless possibilities of flax. Besides beauty, the works also provide an insight into how, as a human being, you can reconnect with nature.