BIE MICHELS

As an artist, Bie Michels positions herself as an observer. Her work focuses on observing, recording, and questioning the representation of the "other".  This "other" remains a construct—both a desire and an impossibility to fully know or possess. It is often absent, yet at times more present than ourselves: someone to try to understand, imitate, admire, love, and engage with on an equal level, all while acknowledging that full understanding is unattainable.
Michels’ films not only explore her own position concerning her subjects but also invite others to collaborate or provide commentary during the creative process. These contributors may be artists, experts, or individuals closely connected to the themes at hand.
Her work often addresses (post)colonial questions and decolonization, as well as post-colonial feminism and female representation. For example, in her three-channel video installation La couleur de la brique (2016), she spent three years working with local artisans, artists, an anthropologist, and the CRAAM art center in Antananarivo, Madagascar. In this piece, Michels examined the links between earth and humanity, objects and bodies, craftsmanship and tradition.
In her film (Pas) Mon Pays, Part I and II (2019), Michels collaborated with filmmaker Paul Shemisi for the second part. The first part centers on a colonial monument in Mechelen, Belgium, and her efforts to decolonize the statue with a group of Belgian citizens of Congolese descent. The second part documents Michels’ visit to DR Congo, where she was born and raised. In collaboration with filmmakers Paul Shemisi and Nisar Saleh from Kinshasa, she created a video report capturing her encounters with various people, raising questions about the enduring effects of colonization on contemporary society.
For the documentary Bandeko Basi she worked together with Paul Shemisi. They examines the position of women in Kinshasa, focusing on how they navigate both traditional and contemporary roles, particularly in relation to female sexual identity.
Besides filmmaking Michels is also busy with painting. There too, several human actions –
anthropological, psychological, political – play an important role. Her paintings are composed to result, from their own logic, in an interlaced image of a new reality. This narrative can be a recognizable mirror in the present time, but also an attempt to deconstruct dominant narratives.
Her work has been shown in Cinéma Lumière Mechelen (B), De Brakke Grond (NL), FIF (BR), FICNC (BJ), Arica Nativa (CL), Contour Biennale 9 (B), Magasin des Horizons (F), argos (B), M HKA (Museum for contemporary art, B), Netwerk Aalst (B), Fei Contemporary Art Centre (CH), Dunkerque2013 (F and GB), and Lokaal 01 (Breda, NL).