Melanie Bonajo
Melanie Bonajo studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, did a residency at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam, and an ISCP in New York. Her work has been exhibited in the Netherlands and abroad, at institutions including Haus der Kunst in Munich, Palais de Tokyo in Paris, MoMA PS1 in New York, and the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. She held her first solo exhibition in 2016 at FOAM Amsterdam. She has been awarded various prizes for her work and was nominated for the prestigious Nam June Paik Award in 2018. Her work is represented by the Akinci Gallery in Amsterdam.
In her semi-documentary video installation, Melanie Bonajo (born 1978, Heerlen) examines the status quo in our contemporary society. In her films, installations and performances, associative connections arise between our relationship with technology and nature.
For many years, portrayals of the perspectives of women, queers, children and animals were practically non-existent. Melanie Bonajo presents them as protagonists of the here and now. She cleverly creates a hybrid world in which the current technological image culture is coated with a layer of nature and mystique. The artist skilfully uses and subsequently ‘bends’ our visual and consumer culture, at the same time providing us with the means to replenish today’s spiritual emptiness. With her projects, Bonajo creates an expanded consciousness, through the physical experience itself, spirituality, the link with nature, and from unique perspectives.