"How to process systemic collapse whilst not shying away from the destructive forces involved 

and yet suggesting hope?

With an interest in ruins and the pitfalls of high-tech, it is my firm aim to tackle the arcane medium of painting by foregrounding vulnerability on a level of both subject matter and formal build-up. Incorporating spatial absurdities, I endeavor to not only destabilize conventional pictorial function, but also to resist mechanical standard. 

The picture plane is often repositioned in my works, striving to open up the perspectival field and to question gravity. I hope to grant ludic alleviation via bodily immersion."

--

Merlin graduated this summer with a Masters in Painting from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp.

On view at Toneelhuis.