Mabel Blokzijl

People and power. Within Mabel Blokzijl’s practice, she explores the power dynamics that shape human relationships. Topics such as family structures, relational bonds and the notion of gender recur in her work. Using a mix of watercolours, acrylics and water-based oil paint, she creates expressive portraits and strives for what she calls “honest painting”. Her work often derives from a personal place, drawing on her own life experiences as an entry point to explore broader, universal matters. Simultaneously, there is a continuous interest in the relationship between the painted figure and the audience, employing voyeurism as an artistic strategy.

 

Blokzijl uses personal photographs as references, approaching her body as a model rather than creating traditional self-portraits. Her work tends to be figurative, yet its emotional charge and expressiveness are shaped through deliberate choices in colour and the intentional bleeding of watercolours. Rather than illustrating complete narratives, her work seeks to uncover what lies beneath, bringing to the surface what might otherwise have remained in the dark. Muffled stories take shape in red, swollen mouths, and lived experiences manifest themselves in dirty knees and gazing eyes. The painted figures frequently seek eye contact, initiating a silent dialogue between viewer and subject. The direct, sometimes confrontational aspect of the work is further intensified by the way the works are presented in space. Whether the work is hung at eye level, slightly above, or below depends on the specific dynamics within the piece and how it engages the audience. In this way, Blokzijl plays with the balance of power between the viewer and the viewed – questioning who is really looking at whom.