Renske (22) is a multidisciplinary artist who operates in the thin lines between the two and three-dimensional planes. She creates coloured pencil drawings on paper, ceramic pieces and sculptures made from materials such as wood and textile. These works can stand on their own or form an installation, where she utilizes space as part of her artwork. You’ll see walls in a room where hair grows out of and drawings that extend beyond the fixed boundaries of paper.

At first glance, her works exude a charming and cheerful atmosphere through the use of pastel colors, the softness of the textile, and the incorporation of shapes and elements that might be perceived as ‘too sweet’ or ‘too feminine’ in society. Elements such as flowers and the color pink. However, upon closer inspection, her works reveal an underlying form of symbolism, sensuality and activism. Everyday scenes and objects blend into a world where societal themes subtly occupy space, inviting viewers to look beyond the surface. She creates her own symbols that recur in her work. You’ll see a menstruating flower, legs with body hair, a nipple dripping with breast milk and a cucumber finger being sliced into pieces. These symbols are nourished by a deep dive into her personal life. Her work begins from a biographical story, a memory of the past. These memories serve as a source of inspiration, as a framework for her work.

Symbols like heels and fingers refer to how she has experienced ‘being a woman’ in society and how she reflect on her own body. The strength of her work seems to lie in how personally she presents her work yet manages to maintain a certainopenness and ambiguity. She creates playful spaces; the longer you look, the more you see.