Artwork of a local student in Groningen to be featured in the Art on Paper fair in Amsterdam.

Lilian Anneloes, 22, creates art that reflects her standpoint in topics such as equality and inclusion. After some traumatic experiences with men when she was younger, she began to transform her anger into passion for educating herself and others through her art by societal and feminist issues. Her piece that shall be featured in the fair, ‘’Susan and the Drunks,’’ sprung as a result of personal experience in bars and one of the incidents in which Thierry Baudet had made a comment about women. ‘’He said that if a woman doesn’t agree, you shouldn’t give up, but offer her a drink instead(…) Just push a little further,’’ tells Lilian. Thus, in the picture, we see a woman being offered a drink but not looking enthusiastic about it. Hence, the text “Gewoon nog even aandringen” (translated to English: ‘’Push a little further’’) accompanies the piece.

Where it all started
Growing up, Lilian always knew that art was her calling. ‘’When I was in high school, I used to draw all over myself and my books, because I was so bored in class. I can’t not do it,’’ expresses Lilian. When she was younger, she experienced feelings of isolation and not fitting in, so she began to embrace exactly who she was, as rejection was no longer a fear since she had become accustomed to it. ‘’I decided that if I’m not going to belong anywhere, I might as well not try to either,’’ she adds.

Since then, she has been nominated for several awards, such as the Minerva Klaas Dijkstra Award, has won two prizes in the final of the Kunstbende and the ‘’Young talent prize’’ at the Northern film festival, all before graduating at Minerva art academy in Groningen. This weekend, her previously mentioned piece, ‘’Susan and the drunks,’’ will be available for purchase at the Art on Paper fair. People interested in older work can also inquire about that with her gallerist at the fair.

Her message
Lilian’s art pieces up until now have been portraying issues that women experience from the female perspective. ‘’I’ve always made things from the female perspective, because I can only speak for myself. I don’t want to speak for anybody else, I want to learn from other people,’’ Lilian explains. With her art, she aims to show the female perspective, but also to educate others. ‘’With each piece I create, I do a research paper. I want my art to be research and to prove what I believe to be true (or not)!’’ Expresses Lilian.

”If you don’t open the conversation to everyone, how can you and they change things? I want my art to spark discussion.”

 

 

 

She emphasizes that her standpoint is one of inclusion, with the aim of starting a conversation. ‘’I think sometimes, especially online feminism and radical feminism demonises the white cis male a bit too much. If you don’t open the conversation to everyone, how can you and they change things? I want my art to spark discussion.’’

Controversial pieces
One of her most talked about pieces is ‘’The woman as a kitchen table,’’ which received quite some criticism from other students, due to feeling it was offensive. ‘’People were making jokes about me and my feminism,’’ says Lilian.

After being ridiculed, she released a new piece to accompany it, ‘’How men feel when talking about women’s issues,’’ which symbolizes the men who were offended by her original piece. ‘’Of course, not all men are like this, but if you’re offended by the art piece, then maybe you are one of those guys. Even if people are offended, it sparks discussion about what’s okay and what’s not. Then, the artwork is quite alright,’’ she responds.

 

 

 

Future plans
Lilian is currently working on a documentary film, ‘’The neighbor is a bitch (“De Buurvrouw is een kutwijf”), which is about the white heteroman’s experiences and feelings in contrast to the minority issues Lilian usually tries to put forward. She will follow the lives of two male friendship groups and discover what they talk about and feel, how they speak about women, POC, LGBTQ+, the issues they face, what life for them is like devoid of sexualization, sexism, racism, ableism or homophobia (and whether that is even true) and more.

‘’Even though I feel like issues regarding sexism, misogyny, racism and other -isms of course should be prioritized, I do feel like white cis guys are kind of a victim of this societal system, too. I believe there are still issues that they experience and there’s a certain pressure of being a white cis male. I think it is expected to be successful. Since there are no external factors apart from for example wealth or family issues that stop them from doing so. They’re being told how to be manly, that they shouldn’t cry, that they should man up, not talk about their feelings etc. I think that is harmful – and in some way or another still misogynistic as ‘typically feminine’ traits such as grumpiness or being emotional, are being hated and avoided’’ As for the plot, she says, ‘’They’ll be deciding the narrative. Their actions shape it!’’

Currently, Lilian is in discussion to obtain grants for her documentary but is still searching for options.

The fair will take place from Thursday 26th  – Sunday 29th and tickets are available on: www.artonpaperamsterdam.nl/en/tickets

Lilian’s website has been having some issues but is still live at liliananneloes.com