Diede Mondelaers (Lier, 2003) collects images of everyday objects from his immediate surroundings, which he then photographs and digitally transforms into abstract, pictogram-like shapes. These digital collages form the basis of his paintings, where classic Flemish landscapes, commonplace street views, and ordinary still lifes are morphed into vivid, uncanny compositions in disparate colours.

Mondelaers’ practice—combining oil painting with techniques such as graffiti and stenciling—is intuitive: sometimes quick and impulsive, at other times slow and layered. Contrasts are deliberately heightened: stark vs. loose, illustrative vs. expressive.

His work becomes an experimental exploration of how the mundane, once distorted and re-staged, can be recharged with meaning—evoking both recognition and estrangement.

@diedemondeleer
diedemondelaers@hotmail.be