Jolijn Baeckelandt

Jolijn Baeckelandt draws the imagery for her works from her immediate
surroundings. Founds sentences, images and ideas are translated into drawings
through a diary-like routine of daily drawing. From these diaries, Baeckelandt
selects and combines her images, meaning that he works inevitably accrue several
layers of meaning through the organic process of routine and selection. The naive
appearance of the work hides multiple hidden meanings.

For Baeckelandt, her chaotic process of production always focuses on the complex
interactions between language and visual image. Texts not only serve as an initial
impetus for the work, but are also present in the paintings, adding multiple
associations and heightening the communicative function to which Baeckelandt’s
pracitice aspires. At base, Baeckelandt wants her work to be accessible and speak
clearly. Her use of communicative strategies from cartoons and comics is a way
to directly address her viewers - not to give in to pure formalism but to play with
the history and current position of painting. The helpless man amongst the masses
is invariably depicted with mild mockery.