A Visual Journey

EPOS OF THE EGO

ROBBIE VAN MIERLO
Fashion Department
The Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp
2014 - 2017
 Preface

Mea Vulva was an exploration of the importance of female energy. I was trying to capture the ‘muse’
and the core of my values. This collection was an entity that existed regardless of my external or internal
complications. It was intense, it was attacking, it was submersion. To counter this I created an opposite
world with How Big How Blue How Beautiful. A concept based on levitation, rather than submersion.
It was intimate, passive and about observing the world around us through a vacuum. It was about
everything that was internal versus external. Epos of the Ego is the culmination of these two collections
and I’ve traveled through everything that exists between dark and light. The Master collection is about
the journey, the quest and the question one needs to ask themselves isn’t anymore what the effect is of the
external on me, but what will be my effect on the external.

In this epos we’ll follow the two protaganists: Jesus Christ and Joan of Arc, characters/icons which represent the male and
female in me. Embarking on a life-changing quest towards transcendence, I reference my life, my work and culture as a whole.
Preface How Big How Blue How Beautiful
Epos of the Ego is a concept I created to translate my translates the emotional catharsis of melancholia as an
own spiritual, symbolic and iconographic world. abstract representation of the personal natural landscape.
Page 4 Pages 94 - 95
General Introduction
In this epos we’ll follow the two protaganists: Jesus Prelude
Christ and Joan of Arc, characters/icons which I wanted to delve into the world of feelings to somehow
represent the male and female in me. ‘discover happiness’. Making the collection in the final
Page 5 bachelor year, I started with ideas of colour.
Index Pages 96 - 99
Table of contents
Pages 6 - 7 Index How Big How Blue How Beautiful
About Pages 100 - 101
I’m Robbie van Mierlo, born on the 27th of September, 1995
with the Sun in Libra, Moon in Scorpio and Leo Ascending. Look I Look VI
Page 8 I wanted this collection to be an abstract Pages 122 -125
Bio translation of my personal landscape.
Curriculum Vitae Pages 102 - 107 Summer Diary
Page 9 During the preceding summer I’ve
Epos of the Ego
I started with the idea of closure, since another Look II immersed myself in the universe of Virginia
Pages 108 - 109 Woolf: books, films, documentaries, etc.
chapter ends in the book of my life and closure for
me always translates as transcendence. Pages 126 - 127
Page 11
Prelude Look III Look VII
This collection was about finding grandness, epicness Pages 110 - 111 Pages 129 - 131
and combine the lightness I’ve worked with in ‘How Big
How Blue How Beautiful and the darkness I’ve worked
with in ‘Mea Vulva’ into a clair-obscure baroque Look IV Look VIII
painting or Gesamtkunstwerk that was going to be my Nature and landscape have such an In ‘How Big How Blue How Beautiful’ I
master collection. emotional influence, that is indispensable run through the fields of my consciousness,
Pages 12 - 13 for an artist. stumbling upon beauty and torment.
Pages 112 - 117 Pages 132 - 135
Index Epos of the Ego
Pages 16 - 17 Look V Lineup & Collages
As the emotional Journey progresses... Pages 136 -137
Index 1. The Funeral 7. The King of Naples Pages 118 - 121
In the first silhouette a.k.a. first chapter While earthly desires are taking over and
we find ourselves in the midst of the every inch of spirituality Jesus had left, Mea Vulva
tragic death... finally evaporates. Mea Vulva was an exploration of the importance
Pages 18 - 21 Pages 54 - 59 of female energy. I was trying to capture the
‘muse’ and the core of my values.
2. A Quest Ahead 8. Joan of Arc Pages 138 - 139
The transition to the 2nd silhouette takes Then finally in the 8th silhouette, there’s
place and Jesus decides to go on a quest. a turning point in the epic. Prelude
Pages 22 - 27 Pages 60 - 65 In society, where a woman will be viewed
negatively, when she is powerful, sexual, smart,
3. Visions 9. Inferno etc., her epitome is the concept of the ‘witch’.
During his travels Jesus is haunted by The spiritual Journey begins and Jesus Pages 140 - 141
several visions of the late Joan of Arc. has to find his way towards enlightenment.
Pages 28 - 31 Pages 66 - 71 Index Mea Vulva
Pages 142 - 143
4. Chains 10. Purgatorio
The quest seems to be more burdensome After befalling the spheres of Hell, Joan Look I Look IV
then Jesus expected it to be. of Arc encourages Jesus. Pages 144 - 145 Pages 156 - 157
Pages 32 - 35 Pages 72 - 77
Look II Moodboard
5. The Artist 11. Paradiso - The Christ Pages 148 - 151 Pages 158 - 159
In the 5th silhouette we embark with They’ve almost reached the end of their
Jesus on his emotional Journey. journey... Concept Look V
Pages 36 - 41 Pages 78 - 83 Pages 152 - 153 Pages 160 - 161
6. Orlando 12. Transcendence Look III
As the emotional Journey progresses... The epic ends here in the 12th silhouette, Pages 154 - 155
Pages 42 - 49 where transcendence takes place.
Pages 84 - 89
6.1 Shoes Video Stills
Collaboration of shoe production Collaboration with Willem Stapel of
with Eleni Kai-Sarros and video with 3D scans.
Konstantinia Petraki. Pages 90 - 91
Pages 50 - 51

Paintings Lineup Epilogue

Triptyque. Impressions of the Dantesque Pages 92 - 93 Pages 162 - End
Journey. Oil on wood.
Pages 52 - 53
 un in Libra, Moon in Sc
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Robbie van Mierlo

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Born 27/09/1995

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+32 492 31 31 73
bbie van Mierlo, born o @robbie.van.mierlo

2013
Honours Graduate from Provinciale Kunsthumaniora Hasselt.
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2015
Historical Costume Project of Madame Marcotte de Sainte-Marie painted by Jean Auguste Dominique
Ingres, 1826
Mea Vulva 2BA Collection
- featuring in ‘De Morgen Magazine’
- sketchbook selections as part of the exhibition ‘The Belgians. An Unexpected Fashion Story’ at BOZAR
Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels

About - Historical Costume Project and artwork selections presented in the MOMU gallery of Antwerp.

I grew up in the rural countryside of the most Southern province of the Netherlands, a meeting point of countries, cultures and religions, where I’ve worked 2016
my way to the prestigious Masters of the Antwerp Fashion Department. Being surrounded by an ever-changing landscape of contrasts and contradictions, I’ve Ethnical Costume Project of Yabusame Rite, Japan
yielded an interest in the study of diversity and harmony. Contrasts within topics like gender, history, intellect, social constructs or even colour and line. The three How Big How Blue How Beautiful 3BA Collection
main pillars my oeuvre is standing on are conceptualism, romanticism (in the 19th century kind of way) and an everlasting need for catharsis and enlightenment. - graduated with Magna Cum Laude
I like to think in symbolism, I like the way art uses mythology and iconography to comprehend the world, abstract feelings
and concepts and I like its ability to resolve dilemmas, quests and questions.
And I love its purpose to make it beautiful... 2017
Epos of the Ego Master Collection

-How Big How Blue How Beautiful and artwork selections presented in
‘De Rode Draad’ exhibition in the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp.

8 9
Epos of the Ego
 I started with the idea of closure,
since another chapter ends in the book of my life and closure for
me always translates as transcendence.
This collection was about finding grandness, epicness and combine the
lightness I’ve worked with in ‘How Big How Blue How Beautiful and the
darkness I’ve worked with in ‘Mea Vulva’ into a clair-obscure baroque
painting or Gesamtkunstwerk that was going to be my master collection.
So I would start to think of myself as a multitude, a homo universalis
with many options laying ahead where I would act as the philosopher, the
artist, the designer, the actor, but more importantly the director of it all.
For other works I usually would start with drawings, collages etc.
or something visual but with this Master collection I wanted to start
with constructing a concept first before getting any esthetics or visual
moodboard. So I started writing out thoughts, concepts, pages of a book,
poetry etc. and finally came to the concept that I called ‘Epos of the Ego’.
A grand odyssey of life, of mý life told in an epic illusionary way but
drawn from my reality and my internal world with its real experiences and
feelings.
I wanted to have an overload of concept, heavy layering of references
and extensive research that fascinates me to capture the complexity of my
own symbolic, iconographic and spiritual world. I felt the need, not to
just have a concept made up from inspiritational sources, but to actually
create the content first to be inspired by. Trying to challenge the status quo
that fashion is shallow, swift and doesn’t have intellect.
The collection is a translation of this concept in the medium of fashion.
14 15
Preface How Big How Blue How Beautiful
Epos of the Ego is a concept I created to translate my translates the emotional catharsis of melancholia as an
own spiritual, symbolic and iconographic world. abstract representation of the personal natural landscape.
Page 4 Pages 94 - 95
General Introduction
In this epos we’ll follow the two protaganists: Jesus Prelude
Christ and Joan of Arc, characters/icons which I wanted to delve into the world of feelings to somehow
represent the male and female in me. ‘discover happiness’. Making the collection in the final
Page 5 bachelor year, I started with ideas of colour.
Index Pages 96 - 99
Table of contents
Pages 6 - 7 Index How Big How Blue How Beautiful
About Pages 100 - 101
I’m Robbie van Mierlo, born on the 27th of September, 1995
with the Sun in Libra, Moon in Scorpio and Leo Ascending. Look I Look VI
Page 8 I wanted this collection to be an abstract Pages 122 -125
Bio translation of my personal landscape.
Curriculum Vitae Pages 102 - 107 Summer Diary
Page 9 During the preceding summer I’ve
Epos of the Ego
I started with the idea of closure, since another Look II immersed myself in the universe of Virginia
Pages 108 - 109 Woolf: books, films, documentaries, etc.
chapter ends in the book of my life and closure for
me always translates as transcendence. Pages 126 - 127
Page 11
Prelude Look III Look VII
This collection was about finding grandness, epicness Pages 110 - 111 Pages 129 - 131
and combine the lightness I’ve worked with in ‘How Big
How Blue How Beautiful and the darkness I’ve worked
with in ‘Mea Vulva’ into a clair-obscure baroque Look IV Look VIII
painting or Gesamtkunstwerk that was going to be my Nature and landscape have such an In ‘How Big How Blue How Beautiful’ I
master collection. emotional influence, that is indispensable run through the fields of my consciousness,
Pages 12 - 13 for an artist. stumbling upon beauty and torment.
Pages 112 - 117 Pages 132 - 135
Index Epos of the Ego
Pages 16 - 17 Look V Lineup & Collages
1. The Funeral 7. The King of Naples As the emotional Journey progresses... Pages 136 -137
Index In the first silhouette a.k.a. first chapter While earthly desires are taking over and Pages 118 - 121
we find ourselves in the midst of the every inch of spirituality Jesus had left,
tragic death... finally evaporates. Mea Vulva
Pages 18 - 21 Pages 54 - 59 Mea Vulva was an exploration of the importance
of female energy. I was trying to capture the
2. A Quest Ahead 8. Joan of Arc ‘muse’ and the core of my values.
The transition to the 2nd silhouette takes Then finally in the 8th silhouette, there’s Pages 138 - 139
place and Jesus decides to go on a quest. a turning point in the epic.
Pages 22 - 27 Pages 60 - 65 Prelude
In society, where a woman will be viewed
3. Visions 9. Inferno negatively, when she is powerful, sexual, smart,
During his travels Jesus is haunted by The spiritual Journey begins and Jesus etc., her epitome is the concept of the ‘witch’.
several visions of the late Joan of Arc. has to find his way towards enlightenment. Pages 140 - 141
Pages 28 - 31 Pages 66 - 71
Index Mea Vulva
4. Chains 10. Purgatorio Pages 142 - 143
The quest seems to be more burdensome After befalling the spheres of Hell, Joan
then Jesus expected it to be. of Arc encourages Jesus. Look I Look IV
Pages 32 - 35 Pages 72 - 77 Pages 144 - 145 Pages 156 - 157
5. The Artist 11. Paradiso - The Christ Look II Moodboard
In the 5th silhouette we embark with They’ve almost reached the end of their Pages 148 - 151 Pages 158 - 159
Jesus on his emotional Journey. journey...
Pages 36 - 41 Pages 78 - 83 Concept Look V
Pages 152 - 153 Pages 160 - 161
6. Orlando 12. Transcendence
As the emotional Journey progresses... The epic ends here in the 12th silhouette, Look III
Pages 42 - 49 where transcendence takes place. Pages 154 - 155
Pages 84 - 89
6.1 Shoes Video Stills
Collaboration of shoe production Collaboration with Willem Stapel of
with Eleni Kai-Sarros and video with 3D scans.
Konstantinia Petraki. Pages 90 - 91
Pages 50 - 51
Epilogue
Paintings Lineup Pages 162 - End
Triptyque. Impressions of the Dantesque Pages 92 - 93
Journey. Oil on wood.
Pages 52 - 53
 1. The Funeral

Ring Image B (2008) Robert Mangold

One of the main running themes in ‘the Epos of the Ego’ is

the journey, represented in both the physical and the spiritual.
Elements inspired by traveling materials, ship constructions and
outdoor gear are manifesting in garments. In research the notion
of the spiritual has been developed by the choice of iconography
and visualizes the journey of oneself.

1. The Funeral
In the first silhouette a.k.a. first chapter we find ourselves in the midst of
the tragic death of the female protagonist, Joan of Arc. Her counterpart
Jesus Christ has to deal with the loss of his companion and gets
confronted with the concept of loss and death.

18 19
1. The Funeral 1. The Funeral

Death of the Virgin (1606)

Caravaggio

20 21
 2. A Quest Ahead

1.

2.
2. A Quest Ahead
The transition to the 2nd silhouette takes place and Jesus decides to
go on a quest to search for immortality and has as purpose to regain
Joan of Arc from the other side.

1. How to Drape a Black Painting (2013) Justin Morin

2. The Sailing Vessels (1564) Pieter Brueghel the
Elder (engraved by Frans Huys)

22 23
2. A Quest Ahead 2. A Quest Ahead

24 25
 2. A Quest Ahead

Persophene’s Bedroom (1974)

Colette Justine

26 27
3. Visions 3. Visions

28 29
3. Visions 3. Visions

Stevie Nicks , Fleetwood Mac (1976)

3. Visions
During his travels Jesus is haunted by several visions of the
late Joan of Arc, which expresses itself in the 3d silhouette.

30 31
 4. Chains

4. Chains
The quest seems to be more burdensome then Jesus expected it to be and he has to face
his disappointments; Death is inevitable and Joan won’t be returning to the land of the
living. The first part of the Journey has reached its end and it manifests as the physical
Journey. In the next chapter and silhouette, a new kind of journey will erupt.

1. 2.

1. David Lynch (1946 - present)

2. Lotte Medelsky as Joan of Arc (1909)

32 33
4. Chains 4. Chains

Outdoor garment and accessory by Salomon

34 35
36 37
5. The Artist 5. The Artist

Painter’s apron

Portrait of Anna Ancher

by Michael Ancher (1920s)

38 39
 5. The Artist

5. The Artist
In the 5th silhouette we embark with Jesus on his emotional Journey, starting
off with his regained zest for achieving immortality. This time, Joan slowly fades
away from the picture and fame becomes Jesus’ main concern. Fulfilling his new
calling as an artist, Jesus tries to obtain eternal life.

Self-Portrait at 26 (1498) Albrecht Dürer

40 41
 6. Orlando

Vita Sackville-West, aged 22

42 43
 6. Orlando

6. Orlando
As the emotional Journey progresses, first the Allegory of the Artist and secondly, the Nobleman, we see how the Ego is slowly taking
over. The 6th silhouette is the personification of the protagonist as the literary figure ‘Orlando’ by Virginia Woolf. Jesus has lifted
himself into the noble position with the allure of his artistry and achieved fame and becomes the Nobleman that everybody desires.

44 45
 6. Orlando

Outdoor backpack, owned by the family van Mierlo

46 47
6. Orlando 6. Orlando

48 49
6.1 Shoes 6.1 Shoes

50 51
6.2 Paintings 6.2 Paintings

52 53
7. The King of Naples
While earthly desires are taking over and every inch of
spirituality Jesus had left, finally evaporates and reaches its
pinnacle in the 7th silhouette; the King of Naples. The Ego has
taken over, Joan of Arc has been forgotten and Jesus receives
the crown of human despair in the cradle of society (Naples).

54 55
56 57
6. The King of Naples 6. The King of Naples

58 59
7. Joan of Arc 7. Joan of Arc

60 61
 7. Joan of Arc

8. Joan of Arc
Then ,finally in the 8th silhouette, there’s a turning point
in the epic: Joan of arc presents herself in the clearest
apparition she’s shown herself so far. She incites him
to leave the unspiritual behind and recover his quest
towards perpetuity.

Joan of Arc at the Coronation of Charles VII

(1854) Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres

62 63
7. Joan of Arc 7. Joan of Arc

64 65
 9. Inferno

Ocean without a Shore (2007) Bill Viola

9. Inferno
The spiritual Journey begins and Jesus has to find his way towards enlightenment. Similar to the way that
Dante and Vergilius traveled trough Hell to Heaven, Jesus guided by Joan has to enter the Inferno and is
represented in the 9th silhouette.

66 67
 9. Inferno

68 69
 9. Inferno 9. Inferno

Kate Bush, Wuthering Heights (1978)

70 71
 10. Purgatorio

Boy with a Basket of Fruit

(1593) Caravaggio

72 73
 10. Purgatorio 10. Purgatorio

Virginia Woolf (1902)Portrait by George Charles Beresford

10. Purgatorio
After befalling the spheres of Hell, Joan encourages Jesus in the 10th silhouette to climb
beyond Mount Purgatory to reach his end goal, the prosperity of his travels is awaiting him.

74 75
10. Purgatorio 10. Purgatorio

76 77
 11. Paradiso - The Christ

1. 2.

1. Florence + The Machine,

Live in Lissabon (2015)
2. The Flagellation of
Christ (1607) Caravaggio

78 79
 11. Paradiso - The Christ

11. Paradiso - The Christ

They’ve almost reached the end of their journey and in the 11th silhouette Jesus arrives in Paradise.
The troubled wanderer becomes the martyr and Jesus finally honours his name and has ‘died’ for his sins.

80 81
11. Paradiso - The Christ 11. Paradiso - The Christ

Print collaboration with Kim Thissen. Detail of ‘Sail’ accessory.

82 83
84 85
 12. Transcendence

Emergence (2002) Bill Viola

12. Transcendence
The epic ends here in the 12th silhouette, where transcendence takes place and
Jesus comes to the realisation that a harmony has landed within. Joan of Arc
never really left him and the two souls are manifested in one body as he reflects
on life’s previous events. The Epos of the Ego is about the Journey, the things you
learn over time and down the road and how things are meant to be. Catharsis
and transcendence is achievable in everyone’s life as long one gives it the ability
to live and understand how beauty can be found in light and dark.

86 87
12. Transcendence

88 89
13. Video Stills 13. Video Stills

90 91
92 93
How Big How Blue
How Beautiful
 How Big How Blue How Beautiful
translates the emotional catharsis of melancholia as an
abstract representation of the personal natural landscape.
I wanted to delve into the world of feelings to somehow ‘discover
happiness’. Making the collection in the final bachelor year, I
started with ideas of colour, in relation to emotions to be exact.
The colours orange and yellow are generally seen as the colours
that evoke happiness and joy, but would we want to see the world
only in orange and yellow? The idea of happiness as the ultimate
environment is contradicting itself in what it actually wants to
achieve. Doesn’t someone live life to the fullest when he or she
endures the whole spectrum of emotions that create a sensation
in every mood of the colour palette.
People who understand the pure feeling of melancholy, know
what it’s like to complete the spectrum, because melancholy lies
in the center of this spectrum.
97
So what if I could shape melancholy into something tangible? We go back to the colour palette, warm and cold are
mixed. Orange and yellow, the most vibrating colours in the palette, are softened and become weak by adding green,
brown and blue to attain melancholia. Melancholia, which is like the summer sun at her highest when you’re standing
in the middle of a field. And when that same sun glows at the edges of leaves at twilight.

99
Preface How Big How Blue How Beautiful
Epos of the Ego is a concept I created to translate my translates the emotional catharsis of melancholia as an
own spiritual, symbolic and iconographic world. abstract representation of the personal natural landscape.
Page 4 Pages 94 - 95
General Introduction
In this epos we’ll follow the two protaganists: Jesus Prelude
Christ and Joan of Arc, characters/icons which I wanted to delve into the world of feelings to somehow
represent the male and female in me. ‘discover happiness’. Making the collection in the final
Page 5 bachelor year, I started with ideas of colour.
Index Pages 96 - 99
Table of contents
Pages 6 - 7 Index How Big How Blue How Beautiful
About Pages 100 - 101
I’m Robbie van Mierlo, born on the 27th of September, 1995
with the Sun in Libra, Moon in Scorpio and Leo Ascending. Look I Look VI
Page 8 I wanted this collection to be an abstract Pages 122 -125
Bio translation of my personal landscape.
Curriculum Vitae Pages 102 - 107 Summer Diary
Page 9 During the preceding summer I’ve
Epos of the Ego
I started with the idea of closure, since another Look II immersed myself in the universe of Virginia
Pages 108 - 109 Woolf: books, films, documentaries, etc.
chapter ends in the book of my life and closure for
me always translates as transcendence. Pages 126 - 127
Page 11
Prelude Look III Look VII
This collection was about finding grandness, epicness Pages 110 - 111 Pages 129 - 131
and combine the lightness I’ve worked with in ‘How Big
How Blue How Beautiful and the darkness I’ve worked
with in ‘Mea Vulva’ into a clair-obscure baroque Look IV Look VIII
painting or Gesamtkunstwerk that was going to be my Nature and landscape have such an In ‘How Big How Blue How Beautiful’ I
master collection. emotional influence, that is indispensable run through the fields of my consciousness,
Pages 12 - 13 for an artist. stumbling upon beauty and torment.
Pages 112 - 117 Pages 132 - 135
Index Epos of the Ego
Pages 16 - 17 Look V Lineup & Collages
1. The Funeral 7. The King of Naples As the emotional Journey progresses... Pages 136 -137
Index In the first silhouette a.k.a. first chapter While earthly desires are taking over and Pages 118 - 121
we find ourselves in the midst of the every inch of spirituality Jesus had left,
tragic death... finally evaporates. Mea Vulva
Pages 18 - 21 Pages 54 - 59 Mea Vulva was an exploration of the importance
of female energy. I was trying to capture the
2. A Quest Ahead 8. Joan of Arc ‘muse’ and the core of my values.
The transition to the 2nd silhouette takes Then finally in the 8th silhouette, there’s Pages 138 - 139
place and Jesus decides to go on a quest. a turning point in the epic.
Pages 22 - 27 Pages 60 - 65 Prelude
In society, where a woman will be viewed
3. Visions 9. Inferno negatively, when she is powerful, sexual, smart,
During his travels Jesus is haunted by The spiritual Journey begins and Jesus etc., her epitome is the concept of the ‘witch’.
several visions of the late Joan of Arc. has to find his way towards enlightenment. Pages 140 - 141
Pages 28 - 31 Pages 66 - 71
Index Mea Vulva
4. Chains 10. Purgatorio Pages 142 - 143
The quest seems to be more burdensome After befalling the spheres of Hell, Joan
then Jesus expected it to be. of Arc encourages Jesus. Look I Look IV
Pages 32 - 35 Pages 72 - 77 Pages 144 - 145 Pages 156 - 157
5. The Artist 11. Paradiso - The Christ Look II Moodboard
In the 5th silhouette we embark with They’ve almost reached the end of their Pages 148 - 151 Pages 158 - 159
Jesus on his emotional Journey. journey...
Pages 36 - 41 Pages 78 - 83 Concept Look V
Pages 152 - 153 Pages 160 - 161
6. Orlando 12. Transcendence
As the emotional Journey progresses... The epic ends here in the 12th silhouette, Look III
Pages 42 - 49 where transcendence takes place. Pages 154 - 155
Pages 84 - 89
6.1 Shoes Video Stills
Collaboration of shoe production Collaboration with Willem Stapel of
with Eleni Kai-Sarros and video with 3D scans.
Konstantinia Petraki. Pages 90 - 91
Pages 50 - 51
Epilogue
Paintings Lineup Pages 162 - End
Triptyque. Impressions of the Dantesque Pages 92 - 93
Journey. Oil on wood.
Pages 52 - 53
 Look I

Foam sculpture as 3D shape experiment

I wanted this collection to be an abstract translation of my personal

landscape. Colour and happiness were moulded into the silhouette
of a woman who, in the midst of everything, exists in harmony with
her surroundings.
These feelings are expressed as a collection of characters, that
reflect the woman and her garment. However, not as a specific
emotion for each look, but as melancholia draped around a
personality. These ideas are illustrated by rustic references and
bold shapes, hand in hand with the feminine flora.

102 103
 Look I

104 105
 Look I

There are several inspirational sources that make How Big How Blue
How Beautiful what it is, but the artists that have shaped the world of the
collection the most are Virginia Woolf, Florence Welch and Ellsworth Kelly.

106 107
 Look II

Vita Sackville-West (1913)

108 109
 Look III

110 111
 Look IV Look IV

1.

2.
1. Virginia Woolf (1902) by George Charles Beresford
2. Ellsworth Kelly (1965) Orange Curve

112 113
114 115
Look IV Look IV

Nature and landscape Art is made for and by mankind to display the truth of our cultural being,
have such an emotional influence, that is indispensable for an artist. but nature will always stand for the infinite, the pure, the boundless.

Valley of Flowers National Park , Uttarakhand (India)

116 117
 Look V Look V

1., 3. Plant Drawings by Ellsworth Kelly 1.

2. The Hours (2002) Stephen Daldry

2. 3.

118 119
Look V

120 121
Look VI

122 123
Look VI

124 125
 Summer Diary Summer Diary

During the preceding summer I’ve immersed myself in the universe of Virginia Woolf: books, films, documentaries, etc. In these This destructiveness didn’t reveal malice, it gave her and me life and we were living the full spectrum of emotions. We felt àll
works I saw the image of an independent woman, with ideas of a radical kind. To me she evokes the colour orange, not a joyful emotions, àll colours and in the landscape we experienced a rebirth.
orange, but an orange that was neither man nor woman.
Virginia, sitting thoughtfully in a drawing room or wandering through a field, observing and understanding. This way of seeing
your environment pass you by in circular shapes (like seasons) and taking note of those is similar to my own process. The time Next to these two British women who drew
has come for me to let myself go and really see, feel and comprehend the effect of the external and internal. inspiration from landscape, I came upon
the American artist Ellsworth Kelly. Kelly
Alongside immersing myself in the history of Virginia mentions that his work is the object and
Woolf, I also surrounded myself with the sounds of Florence the wall is the support and so too is the
+ the Machine. The ‘How Big How Blue How Beautiful’ girl in ‘How Big How Blue How Beautiful’
album was another major influence for my eponymous the paint and her landscape, the canvas.
collection. Florence Welch went on an odyssey of self- On one hand Ellsworth Kelly has these
discovery and heartbreak, channeling her experiences in abstract monochrome paintings, where
this album. ‘How Big How Blue How Beautiful’ became universal truth is existing in colour and
a tantra for dissecting oneself, and that summer became shape. On the other hand, his array of
a time for me to heal and observe life’s previous events. plant and flower sketches convey emotion,
where a simple pencil line is as storytelling
‘How Big How Blue How Beautiful’ isn’t really about the healing of a broken heart, it’s about healing the broken vessel of that heart. as is its simplicity.

126 127
128 129
Look VII Look VII

130 131
 Look VIII Look VIII

Florence + The Machine,

How Big How Blue How Beautiful (2015)

132 133
 Look VIII

In ‘How Big How Blue How Beautiful’ I run through the fields of my consciousness, stumbling upon beauty and torment.
Melancholy is a returning catharsis that is inescapable and nothing is more beautiful or painful than that.

135
136 137
Mea Vulva
 Mea Vulva evolved around the idea
of an unapologetic woman, who crosses all borders and limitations
of the patriarchal female image.
In society, where a woman will be viewed negatively, when she
is powerful, sexual, smart, etc., her epitome is the concept of
the ‘witch’. The collection displays five women who represent
a coven, celebrating feminist freedom and the mysteries of
female identity.
The starting point for this collection came from a need of
release, a need of intensity, a need of going into the mystic.
There’s a certain moment in growing up and being faced with
one’s fears, where you either respond with fight or flight and
the urge to fight was forthcoming. A fourth feminist wave
which is manifesting within my generation, is reminding me
of my purpose in this world and the impact that I could have.
A woman is a force that I’ve drawn most from and to, in work
as well as in life and I’ve been mesmerized by the secrets of
the divine feminine since forever.
141
Preface How Big How Blue How Beautiful
Epos of the Ego is a concept I created to translate my translates the emotional catharsis of melancholia as an
own spiritual, symbolic and iconographic world. abstract representation of the personal natural landscape.
Page 4 Pages 94 - 95
General Introduction
In this epos we’ll follow the two protaganists: Jesus Prelude
Christ and Joan of Arc, characters/icons which I wanted to delve into the world of feelings to somehow
represent the male and female in me. ‘discover happiness’. Making the collection in the final
Page 5 bachelor year, I started with ideas of colour.
Index Pages 96 - 99
Table of contents
Pages 6 - 7 Index How Big How Blue How Beautiful
About Pages 100 - 101
I’m Robbie van Mierlo, born on the 27th of September, 1995
with the Sun in Libra, Moon in Scorpio and Leo Ascending. Look I Look VI
Page 8 I wanted this collection to be an abstract Pages 122 -125
Bio translation of my personal landscape.
Curriculum Vitae Pages 102 - 107 Summer Diary
Page 9 During the preceding summer I’ve
Epos of the Ego
I started with the idea of closure, since another Look II immersed myself in the universe of Virginia
Pages 108 - 109 Woolf: books, films, documentaries, etc.
chapter ends in the book of my life and closure for
me always translates as transcendence. Pages 126 - 127
Page 11
Prelude Look III Look VII
This collection was about finding grandness, epicness Pages 110 - 111 Pages 129 - 131
and combine the lightness I’ve worked with in ‘How Big
How Blue How Beautiful and the darkness I’ve worked
with in ‘Mea Vulva’ into a clair-obscure baroque Look IV Look VIII
painting or Gesamtkunstwerk that was going to be my Nature and landscape have such an In ‘How Big How Blue How Beautiful’ I
master collection. emotional influence, that is indispensable run through the fields of my consciousness,
Pages 12 - 13 for an artist. stumbling upon beauty and torment.
Pages 112 - 117 Pages 132 - 135
Index Epos of the Ego
Pages 16 - 17 Look V Lineup & Collages
1. The Funeral 7. The King of Naples As the emotional Journey progresses... Pages 136 -137
Index In the first silhouette a.k.a. first chapter While earthly desires are taking over and Pages 118 - 121
we find ourselves in the midst of the every inch of spirituality Jesus had left,
tragic death... finally evaporates. Mea Vulva
Pages 18 - 21 Pages 54 - 59 Mea Vulva was an exploration of the importance
of female energy. I was trying to capture the
2. A Quest Ahead 8. Joan of Arc ‘muse’ and the core of my values.
The transition to the 2nd silhouette takes Then finally in the 8th silhouette, there’s Pages 138 - 139
place and Jesus decides to go on a quest. a turning point in the epic.
Pages 22 - 27 Pages 60 - 65 Prelude
In society, where a woman will be viewed
3. Visions 9. Inferno negatively, when she is powerful, sexual, smart,
During his travels Jesus is haunted by The spiritual Journey begins and Jesus etc., her epitome is the concept of the ‘witch’.
several visions of the late Joan of Arc. has to find his way towards enlightenment. Pages 140 - 141
Pages 28 - 31 Pages 66 - 71
Index Mea Vulva
4. Chains 10. Purgatorio Pages 142 - 143
The quest seems to be more burdensome After befalling the spheres of Hell, Joan
then Jesus expected it to be. of Arc encourages Jesus. Look I Look IV
Pages 32 - 35 Pages 72 - 77 Pages 144 - 145 Pages 156 - 157
5. The Artist 11. Paradiso - The Christ Look II Moodboard
In the 5th silhouette we embark with They’ve almost reached the end of their Pages 148 - 151 Pages 158 - 159
Jesus on his emotional Journey. journey...
Pages 36 - 41 Pages 78 - 83 Concept Look V
Pages 152 - 153 Pages 160 - 161
6. Orlando 12. Transcendence
As the emotional Journey progresses... The epic ends here in the 12th silhouette, Look III
Pages 42 - 49 where transcendence takes place. Pages 154 - 155
Pages 84 - 89
6.1 Shoes Video Stills
Collaboration of shoe production Collaboration with Willem Stapel of
with Eleni Kai-Sarros and video with 3D scans.
Konstantinia Petraki. Pages 90 - 91
Pages 50 - 51
Epilogue
Paintings Lineup Arnold Frolics, IV---straight out of camera Pages 162 - End
Triptyque. Impressions of the Dantesque Pages 92 - 93
Journey. Oil on wood.
Pages 52 - 53
Look I

144 145
146 147
1.1.7 Luptatio Look II

Carrie (1976) Brian De Palma

148 149
Look II

Cher poses for a portrait session at home

(1977)

150 151
 Concept Concept

1. Bakelite Lady Hands with Crossed Fingers brooches

2. St. Dorothy (1506) Lucas Cranach the Elder
3. Me Kissing Vinoodh (Passionately) (1999) Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin
4. Bill Traylor (1854 – 1949) William Louis-Dreyfus Collection
5. Stevie Nicks, Fleetwood Mac Live (1976)
1. 4. 5.

2.
So the need to finally create an ode to those who’ve
created myself are being channelled in this concept
and perhaps it’s a reflection of what I ought the female
version of me to look like. From the way that Cher or
Stevie Nicks were carrying themselves in the esoteric
70s, or the sinister love that the Victorians had for the
occult. A pinstripe here, referring to being cunning and
calculated and a glimmering material there, to remind
one of the imperceptible.
Green faux fur, hairlocks and leathers in bright red and
purple fish skin, as a hint of something organic within
this contemporary vixen. Arnold Frolics’ pictures, Bill
Traylors artwork and even the pop-cultural ‘American
Horror Story: Coven’ have shaped a vision of a layered
woman with flaws, strengths, sex, wit and above
all being elusive. Eventually I tried to emulate the
essence of my mother, who was all the above and
the woman, the witch.

3.

152 153
Look III Look III

Cher in Bob Mackie dress (1974)

154 155
 Look IV Look IV

1. The Wizard of Oz (1946) Victor Fleming

2. MacBeth (1948) Orson Welles
3. The Lady of Shalott (1857) William Holman Hunt (engraved by J. Thompson)

156 157
Moodboard

1.

2.

158 159
Look V

3.
160 161
 Epilogue
The work in this portfolio did not establish itself by just the richness and needs of my own artistic capabilities,
but also with the help of many many other participants who’ve supported and collaborated with me.
I would like to mention the gratitude towards my family and friends; My mother, my father, my brother and it’s
only fair to mention the Joan of Arc in real life, Jeanne Lensen.
I’d like to thank Kim Thissen, Caro Deraedemaker, Lili Glavan, Willem Stapel, Simona Mikulova, Michaël Smits,
Anne Marie Saric, Lander Van der Borght and Ornella Perl who’ve helped translate my vision with their visuals.
Eleni Kai-Sarros and Konstantinia Petraki for the shoe collaboration. Art2C, Harry Schreven and Marjolein
Venner with the jewellery and the many people who’ve helped with the technical and sewing department of the
collections.
Shayli Harrison and Sofie Nieuwborg for everything between work and friendship. As well as the teachers and
the amazingly talented people from the Fashion Department of Antwerp who’ve surrounded me these 4 years.

And thank you to women in general, you’re the poet in my heart.

 (thank you to
Jesus Christ, Joan of Arc, Florence Welch, Leonardo Da Vinci, Virginia Woolf, Bill Viola, Dante Alighieri, Carravaggio,
Stevie Nicks, Robert Mangold, David Lynch, Kate Bush, Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Christobal Balenciaga, Justin Morin,
Ellsworth Kelly, Patti Smith, Vita Sackville-West, Stephen Daldry, Cher, Arnold Frolic, Bill Traylor, Ryan Murphy and
many more to come)