KAROLIEN SOETE
Born and raised in Flanders into a family of artists and musicians Soete holds a master degree in historical graphic techniques from St. Luke Academy of Art in Ghent, Belgium.Additionally, she has studied stone and clay work, photography, architecture, voice, and is fluent in computer design, animation, and video editing. Professionally Karolien has been an art director for motion pictures and commercial photography, and sung classical music in concert and on film. For the last ten years, Karolien has focused her creative energies into ‘mastering’ the portrait, seeking to investigate and express ‘the human character’. Her work can be found today throughout Europe and the United States.
Sensory Faculty. The works began as I was convalescing from a series of annoying physical maladies, and a minor surgery. In fact, some of my body issues were caused from years of protracted exposure to the, not so healthful, chemicals associated with my various processes (involving paints and varnishes etc.). Besides a focus on broader notions of sense perception, and sense memory, the specifically limiting (medical doctor pre-scribed) factor of wearing a protective mask began to feedback, to influence, my work. I then began to inquire about the cause and effect when limiting, or conversely over stimulating, other senses while I paint. Seeking to work in more open air spaces than my current studio, and wanting to incorporate my love and work with film and moving images, I next experimented with various animation techniques. First came a series of photographic self portraits with a spiraling camera, then some light-hearted short films with a doll from my childhood, followed by practices with different wall animations in my home studio, and then I received a grant from Nucleo to paint for two months in one of their studios in an abandoned school in Ghent. I set out to ‘visualize’ my thoughts in moving mural animations. Using the walls, floor, ceiling I created, frame by frame, with acrylics and ink, a digital still camera, and computer editing software the film sequences.