Bottles, teeth, pliers, glass. Objects and materials are an inexhaustible source of inspiration for my work. My name is Merel Wendt (1999), an illustrator and printmaker currently based in Groningen, the Netherlands. I share a screen print studio with the four other members of Purple Carrot Collective.

Objects almost always function as the characters in my illustrations. They have the ability to come to life. As a maker I try to visualize my fascination for their form by bending and manipulating their properties, such as shape, color and size.  In this way I hope to reacquaint the viewer with these familiar objects.

Last year, I graduated with the project PFAND, a project about the Berliner Pfandsammler*innen and their bottle collection. Read more about the project here.

Education:

2017-2021     BA Illustration and Animation Design,
                        Academy Minerva Groningen, Cum Laude

2020              Internship at Nino Bulling, Berlin

2016-2017    Pre-course Art and Design, ArtEZ Zwolle

Exhibitions and projects:

2022           Fumetto Comic Festival, Luzern Switzerland
2022           Night By The Young, Rozentheater Amsterdam
2022           DAD Design Stories, Groningen         
2022           VPRO Dorst Instagram takeover
2021            IJswee, CKB Emmen
2021            Dutch Design Week, Klokgebouw Eindhoven

2021            Manifestatie Jong, Galerie DSG Assen

2021            Detour, Graduation show Academy Minerva

2020           Channeled, The Waterhouse Gallery, Groningen

2020           Like a Virgin, Galerie H200 Groningen

2019            Panta Rhei, Grafiek2019 & Forma Aktua Groningen

2019            Illustratie57, Groningen (side events, curation and                                                      organising seminars)

2019            Grafiek in de Kerk, Woltersum

2018            Cross Comix, Rotterdam (student price nomination)

2018            Allie van Altena Farewell Exhibition, Groningen

Workshops:

2022        “Bookbinding and journaling”
                 Cultuurmarathon Montessori Lyceum, Groningen.

2022       “Prints of collections, collections of prints”.
                 Exploring objects and still-lives through polyesterplate-                                          lithography, Academy Minerva Projectweek

Selected clients:

Essay Skate Magazine, Stichting Eurosonic Noorderslag, Juiststraks.nu, Stichting Poëziepaleis, NNZ, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, UMCG.