Merel Hoogendijk

The edges of my body

2025

Merel went into the field, guidebook and binoculars in hand, to look for birds. Soon she found the bird and its body, sitting on a branch, and it reflected back at her, her own body, standing on a gravel road. She saw the bird clearly, but what did the bird see when it looked at her? What is that body on the gravel road? 

When a bird builds a nest, it places material around itself, creating a space in the centre for its body. ‘To discover what my body is, I need to examine the material around me.’ thought Merel: ‘ What is my nest? What are the twigs that hold me, these soft mosses and horse hairs, that allow me to be vulnerable within its confines? If I can find my nest, I can find the shape of my body within it.’ And so she went looking for the things that support and hold her, the narratives that are intertwined around her body. 

Merel Hoogendijk makes drawings and occasionally books, sculptures and videos, of small stories. Wrapped up in witty text or absurd images, the stories in Merel’s work are fragments of a broader narrative on uncertainty. She finds these fragments while cycling, in an old encyclopedia, in conversations, in a cupboard, or - quite often - in birds. Intrigued with the fleetingness of birds (catching a glimpse of them when they suddenly appear, and disappear just as quickly), and their endearing kind of silliness, the bird has become a significant other in Merel’s making process. Starting from something inherently birdly like a nest, allows her to think of the need for security, the gathering of material and the temporality of the spaces around us. 

Artist statement
In her artistic practice Merel wonders how stories are present in daily details. Narratives can help you understand what another might be, either human, animal or thing. Her work aims to make you aware of the stories that shaped you, or become attuned to the narratives of another. Birds have been Merel’s guide in the making process, which resulted in drawings, books and video’s containing humorous and also fragile stories. She goes looking for the in between spaces, flying people, talking birds, where you and another overlap or find room for something new to develop. Where do you end and do I begin?

This page was last updated on July 7, 2025