I am. My life is… the work of art
Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.
pablo picasso
El genio maltratador
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Art as therapy
Selfportrait without face - 1994
Body image disturbance
I have never lived in my own body. Since my early childhood, I have been inhabiting my body like a cheap motel on my way somewhere else. My spaceship never really landed on planet Earth. By the age of 17, I was convinced I had saggy breasts and a disproportionately fat belly and fat ass. Body image disturbance (BID) is a common symptom in patients with eating disorders and is characterized by an altered perception of one's body. In retrospect, I was never really overweight. Not as a child, not as a teenager. I was depressed, and I had a distorted self-image. I drew my discomfort in this body (see Selfportrait without face - 1994). Be careful what you wish for: in 2016, I actually had the body that I drew in 1994! And then, I decided to fully own my creation.
Muriel Van Peteghem at DUS in Doka Volkshotel Amsterdam 2016 © Ernst van Deursen
Occupying space
For the first time, I talked about these experiences on a stage. And how art kept me going. To express myself and to transform the pain and bad memories into healing. It was both an indictment and an ode to the body.
"In an artistic ego document, Muriel Van Peteghem reflects on 'la condition humaine'. How does our body limit us or, on the contrary, give us freedom? Can we occupy more space on Earth and conquer the universe?"
Muriel Van Peteghem at DUS in Doka, Volkshotel Amsterdam 2016 © Ernst van Deursen
This is my church. This is where I heal my hurts
Faithless
God is a DJ
Art and activism
Dam Square Amsterdam, 8 March 2022
