The international Tower of Babel project was initiated by Finnish graphic design studio Ratamo to mark their tenth anniversary in 2022. They took Pieter Bruegel the Elder's famous painting as their starting point, divided it into 342 sections and invited graphic artists from around the world to reinterpret each section in their own way. Eight members of the Veerle Rooms Foundation contributed on behalf of Belgium: Hanna de Haan (NL), Sarah Daeleman, Henri Ardui, Hilde Van den Heuvel, Mieke Robroeks (NL), Nathan Gotlib, Lana Van Goethem and Veerle Rooms. The combined whole – an impressive work of art measuring 245 x 335 cm – transforms the biblical confusion of tongues into a contemporary symbol of global connectedness and cultural diversity.
Maite Cascón (b. 1991, Madrid) creates etchings that explore the darker layers of the human psyche with a distinctive sense of play. Drawing on Jung’s theory of archetypes, she constructs visual genealogies — vast trees populated with figures from folklore, mythology, and popular culture. Rituals and superstitions also appear under Cascón’s attentive gaze. In a separate series, she examines their shifting meanings and psychological dimensions. Even the figure of the Virgin Mary gets reimagined — both symbol and individual — revealing new ways of understanding her place within the collective imagination.
René De Coninck (1907 – 1978) transforms the everyday into a fantastic, visionary world. His work aligns with artists like Giorgio De Chirico and Paul Delvaux, who each in their own way subtly blend magical realism with surrealism. The scenes De Coninck depicts evoke a sense of estrangement, as if sprung from a dream that is at once unsettling and enchanting. With this exhibition, Museum De Reede offers an intimate and compelling look at the oeuvre of this Antwerp master, where the complexity of human existence, the animalistic, and the dark beauty of his visions are brought vividly to life.
