© Jelle Annie Michiels – Please Just See Me

Jelle Annie Michiels, 1981, examines the idea of place and belonging.

Through her work she tries to resolve inner conflicts. She often works with personal items as well as visual and tactile memories from her past and present to create an intimate connection between herself and her work.

By incorporating a variety of materials, colors and textiles she designs unique textures that evoke emotions of pain and comfort, nostalgia and grief.

At first glance her work seems playful and intuitive but don’t let this deceive you. Subtle language uncovers her vulnerability creating a fragile balance between perceivable lightness and painful trauma.

With her call to action: Let’s (not) talk about the hard things she invites the audience to challenge old coping mechanisms. She wants viewers to reflect on their own feelings of displacement and find comfort and strength in confrontation and conversation. In return she offers the audience a temporary safe space to connect with their own inner landscape.

Ultimately she is looking for a place to come home to, she wants to belong.