Catalogue Into the Labyrinth

Marilou van Lierop paints existing photos. Often in black and white, sometimes torn out of a magazine, sometimes digitally scanned. Van Lierop changes the original meaning of the photos; she puts her own view of the world over them like a filter. The collages represent a new, twisted reality, but are nontheless visibly composed of elements of the original reality. The original images are still present.

The group, not the individual, is central to the works: usually groups of people are depicted, from individuals to teeming masses. This keeps Van Lierop’s characters anonymous and unrecognisable, which also applies to the environment in which they are placed. This can appear neutral, but can also come across as ominous, for example when they are on the edge of a raging sea. Initially Van Lierop painted landscapes, with different viewpoints combined in a single work: the human eye can't beat nature.