Mees Knarren

About me
 

Since I’ve been a young boy, femininity has been an important theme in my life. I’ve always surrounded myself with women, collected things that I associated with femininity, and have been interested in the life stories of the women who went before us. In some sort of way I appropriated femininity, and this made me into the person I am today. For this reason, I will always have a fundamental interest in women, their world and their history.

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In my illustrations, once can recognize this fascination. In a distinctive style, in which I gratefully make use of references to art history, I make clear and detailed drawings that visualise my imagination. Drawing gives me the possibility to let times long gone re-emerge with my own hands.
Aside from the nostalgia and yearning to beauty that speaks from my work, I want to convey a certain meaning to the viewer as well. Subjects like the position of women in societies in the past as well as the present are ever apparent in my work.

 

Through my illustrations I’m travelling through time and taking the viewer with me. Looking at the past can make you think about the present. I’m always trying to make historical themes relevant and interesting for a contemporary audience.

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Theoretical research is an essential part of exploring these historical subjects. I enjoy sifting through these subjects immensely, and always want to get a sense of the matter before I start converting it to images. The research to me is very interesting as well as essential for a full-fledged visual project. The most gratifying project results are the ones where image and information reinforce and complement each other, and form a balanced whole.

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Contact: meesknarren@hotmail.com

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mees.knarren/

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Graduation project (Dutch): https://anderehelftvandegeschiedenis.nl