Hilde Vermeeren

Nothing is ever completely silent–

In my graduation project, I explore the silence surrounding loss, waiting and missing. “Nothing is ever completely silent” is an often hidden but powerful story, in which you are confronted with loss, the process of inner mourning, as well as conflict. Emotions that flare up and consume everything, only to turn into ultimate stillness. In the work, we follow a group of people on a journey towards a farewell. Yet the power lies not in the grand gesture, but in the moments in between: a glance, a slap, a silence.

This etched visual story weaves mythical elements together with personal imagery, evoking a world in which silence is not the absence of sound, but a living, breathing moment in between. The elements are not references to existing stories, but forms that speak from another layer. They embody something greater than myself, something that cannot be easily explained but can be felt.

The use of the centuries-old etching technique creates a layered, timeless visual structure that connects with the rustling moments of pause in the story. The figures and symbols emerge as fragments of a collective subconscious – they speak without words, point without explanation, turn to the left.

This work is not a narrative in the classical sense, but rather a ritual of observation. An invitation to become still and listen to what lies just beneath the surface. For me, silence is not an endpoint, but a space in which something begins to move. With this book, I invite you to slow down, to look at what is not immediately visible, to feel what does not always need to be said.