Ilke cop

At cc De Schakel, Ilke Cop (1988, Merksem) presents recent work, alongside earlier post-apocalyptic canvases. In Once in a Blue Shroom, the artist explores “a new worldview through a journey into the mycelium, the universe of mushrooms.”

Cop has a degree in art history and initially made her name with her fashion label. In recent years, she has also established herself as a self-taught painter. Her work is characterized by bold, disruptive, and critical visual montages, where art historical, allegorical, and autobiographical motifs – including self-portraits – converge.

The artist’s prominent figure, sometimes nude, seems to challenge us intellectually rather than physically. Cop’s practice can be seen as part of a pertinent figurative movement in which the (female) body is no longer approached through an objectifying gaze, but from a self-aware perspective.

Ilke Cop - Once in a Blue Shroom is a collaboration between cc De Schakel and Be-Part, with thanks to Tatjana Pieters.

Image: Ilke Cop, Hard Spore IV, 2024 © Lien Peters