Sidney Waerts (1976) is a painting artist and muralist. He has been building an impressive oeuvre for more than 15 years, with (inter)national exhibitions in leading galleries and museums. In his recent series SPIRITS, strength and self-love are the main themes. Looking at his Indonesian youth, Waerts looks for ways to rediscover and reinvent himself. With his own visual language, in which simplicity and color are used in an innovative way, he taps into deep emotional layers. This new direction reflects an artistic liberation, in which he is guided by the unexpected and intuitive.

For this series Waerts turns to volcanic scenes, eruptions, subtle references to a forgotten youth and fragments of distant ancestors. Sepia tones reminiscent of ancient Indonesian images. Elements such as bamboo, water and light form powerful starting points with which he unlocks the hidden stories of his origins. As an Indo-European, he breaks through the silence that has long surrounded his own history. For Waerts, art is more than an expression – it is processing, and processing leads to healing.

With SPIRITS he takes a refreshing step, in which he not only highlights his personal history, but also the collective experience of the Indian diaspora and associated identity. SPIRITS is an artistic statement that aims to shed light on shadows from the past.