Marie Louise Elshout (Delft, 1967)
Marie Louise Elshout's werk onderscheidt zich door een dynamische combinatie van tekenen en schilderen, zij toont in haar doeken de ambivalente machtsverhouding tussen mens en dier. Ze positioneert haar hybride wezens in een historische 19e-eeuwse setting, geïnspireerd door Daguerreotype-fotografie. In de minutieus vervaardigde werken ligt de nadruk niet op de menselijke eigenschappen van dieren maar eerder in de folklore van de mens, de duistere kant van de tradities en rituelen. Haar werk is een uitnodiging om te delen in haar fascinatie en wellicht meer verbinding te vinden met de natuur.
“Dit is werk dat steeds meer in de tijd komt. Marie-Louise Elshout werkt al jaren aan een consistent oeuvre van tekeningen en schilderingen waarop tere, fragiele figuren verschijnen. Het is vaak beschreven als verwijzend naar het occulte, de nachtkant van het bestaan. Dat geloof ik wel. Maar ik geloof ook dat in die mystieke uitstraling een positieve kant zit. Wanneer de dagelijkse realiteit geen enkele uitweg biedt, opent Elshout de deur voor ons naar een nieuwe, onbekende ruimte. Om te veranderen in een nieuw of ander persoon. Marie-Louise kijkt naar binnen, naar de gevoelswereld en de geheimzinnige oorden van de fantasievolle verbeelding.
Het is bijzonder dat in een tijd waarin de oppervlakkigheid van de social media verwarring sticht tussen wat echt en fake is, Elshout’s figuren zich richten op hun binnenwereld die misschien reëler voelt dan die zich buiten hen bevindt. Haar werk is een uitnodiging om stil te worden, en af te durven dalen in het diepst van je gevoelens en gedachten. Haar figuren doen het vaak al voor. Ze trekken zich terug achter hun lange haar, kijken je zelden aan. Hurricane – zo zijn veel tekeningen genoemd – woelt die achter de gesloten ogen?”
Mariette Dölle, directeur Nieuwe Kerk Amsterdam, 2022.
'Painting, to Marie Louise Elshout, comes closest to her other passions: nature and romanticism. What truly fascinates her, are the ambivalent (read: love/hate, tender/cruel) relationships between human beings and animals, adults and children, leaders and followers. In her paintings she tries to emphasize on taboos that often create cruelty and fear, abuse and loneliness.
Starting point for her paintings are photographs form 19th Century landscapes, mainly set in North America, where pioneers conquered land, fighting and defeating nature. At first sight, they were building a new life, a new future, but Marie Louise wants to show the dark side of this experience.
Without any respect for nature or the local population, these people were acting out of self preservation and their deeds were mainly fueled by self interest. Marie Louise wants to capture these dark aspects of mankind, expressed in meticulously painted works of art.
She feels familiar to artists like P.J. Harvey, Marina Abramovic, Jerzy Kosinski, Ian McEwan, David Lynch and John Steinbeck, all of whom she admires for their force, their purity and their alienating abilities. Without concessions they show, each in his/her own way, neurotic and destructive powers that drive us, human beings, in this life.
Marie Louise’s paintings are of an extreme beauty, beautiful messages of pain and painful messages of beauty, the viewer is divided between attraction and repulsion.
One needs to be a very strong and determined artist in order to have the courage to mix feelings of aesthetics with those of claustrophobia and fear.'
Manuela Klerkx, Agentschap & Coaching, 2016.
In 2016 Marie Louise Elshout was nominated for the Jacob Hartog Prize, which is given each year at the Pulchri Studio spring Salon.
Hybrid#16 (Octopuses), 200×90 cm, pencil, charcoal and oil on canvas, 2025. Octopuses are highly intelligent creatures. They can complete puzzles, untie knots, open jars, toddler proof cases and are expert escape artists from aquariums, their intelligence stems from a completely unrelated path to human intelligence. Like all marine animals, they are seriously threatened by pollution, overfishing and habitat loss, the Coral Reefs around the world are under threat due to factors including global warming and acidification of seawater.
Hybrid#15 (Dahu), 50×50 cm, pencil, charcoal and oil on canvas, 2024. The Dahu is a mythical creature that according to local folklore lives in the Alps. The precise origins of the Dahu legend is unknown, but it is believed to stem from ancient traditions and superstition of the locals. Early settlers may have attributed the occasional discovery of goat carcasses or unusual tracks to a mischievous creature in the mountains.
Vanitas#3 (Smallest Dog on Earth), 90×70 cm, pencil, charcoal, acrylic and oil on canvas, 2024. The Chihuahua is a small dog breed, their size even gets smaller due to popular demand, the smallest dog on earth is 9.65 cm (3.8 inch) and she has been cloned 49 times.
Hybrid#12 (Clouded Leopard) 170 x 90 cm, pencil, charcoal and oil on canvas, 2024. Meet the Clouded Leopard , the most ancient feline specie. The wild population is vulnerable and is threatened by deforestation on a huge scale . They are the most adorable predators in the world, therefore also one of the most poached, its skin and body parts are offered for decoration and clothing, though it is legally protected in most countries.
Vanitas#4 (München Albino Alligator) 90×70 cm, pencil, charcoal, acrylic and oil on canvas, 2024. This baby albino alligator was found in a suitcase on München airport wrapped completely in plastic except for her nostrils to breath.The fact that she survived is a miracle, she’s named Ophelia and found her home in Terrazoo Rheinberg, Germany.
Hybrid#14 (Jackalopes) 120×120 cm, pencil, charcoal and oil on canvas, 2024. The jackalope is a fictional animal found mainly in North American folklore tales. In most stories it is described as a hare or rabbit with antlers and in some cases the tail of a pheasant. In fact they are hares afflicted with a rare virus which causes a hornlike growth on the animals.
Hybrid#6 (Reindeer) 170×110 cm, pencil, charcoal and oil on canvas, 2024. Reindeer are known as magical creatures but they have truly amazing features; they see light within the ultraviolet range, their noses are full of blood vessels which cool warm air down as it leaves the body and warms cold air up as it comes in, there antlers are the largest of all deer and they are the only species in which the females also grow antlers.
Hybrid#11 (Slow Lorises), 90×90 cm, pencil, charcoal and oil on canvas, 2024. Slow Lorises are highly sensitive nocturnal primates. Deep-rooted beliefs about the supernatural powers of Slow Lorises, such as their ‘abilities’ to ward off evil spirits or to cure wounds, have popularized their use in traditional medicine. They have a venomous bite, which can be deadly to humans, as a consequence they have their front teeth pulled out before being sold as pets, a practice that often causes infection and death.
Hybrid#2 (Harpy Eagles) 150×50 cm, pencil, charcoal and oil on canvas, 2023. The Harpy Eagle AKA royal-hawk and one of the biggest eagles in the world. The Harpy Eagle’s facial feathers can be lowered or lifted at will like an owl. They are threatened primarily by habitat loss due to deforestation. Although not actually known to prey on humans and only rarely on domestic stock, the species’ large size and fearless behaviour around humans makes them an irresistible target for hunters.
Hybrid#9 (Xōlōitzcuintles), 80×70 cm, pencil, charcoal and oil on canvas, 2024. The Xōlōitzcuintles dogs of Mexico (aka Mexican Nude Dogs) have an ancient history. They are one of the oldest breeds of dogs and were highly revered by the Aztec people. Xolo dogs were esteemed as guards and protectors and were believed to safeguard the home from evil spirits as well as intruders. In ancient times Xolos were often sacrificed and buried with their masters in order to guide the soul on its journey to the Underworld.
Hybrid#7 (Hares), 70×70 cm, pencil, charcoal and oil on canvas, 2024.(SOLD private collection Rotterdam)
Buffalo#1, 90×180 cm, pencil, charcoal, oil and acrylic on canvas, 2016 ( nominated for the Jacob Hartog Price 2016), Courtesy ZERP Galerie, SOLD private collection Rotterdam)
Tree#2, 170×90 cm, pencil, charcoal, conté and oil on canvas, 2018.(SOLD private collection Zutphen)