Bio
Venus Jasper (Griepink) is a queer visual artist, storyteller, world builder, singer-priestess, public speaker, researcher, educator, writer and curator - currently based between Amsterdam and Antwerp. In their multi-disciplinary counter-cultural and ritualistic work they envision spirited and sensuous post-capitalisms that spell the decolonization of the anthropocene, rekindle more-than-human kinship, and forward queer perspectives on ecology, community, spirituality and the self.
As part of their artistic practice, they create ultra-sensory spatial installations in which grounded tactility meets playful futurism. From sculptural mudscapes teeming with life to participatory performances, from audiovisual pieces, and experimental electronic soundscapes to vernacular sculptures, from participatory performances to drawings — each creation invites audiences into a realm of exploration and introspection. Highlights are their large solo exhibition EARTHSHRINE at MU Eindhoven (2022) and the performance OAKBaLLZ and EELSKin at Rupert Lithuania (2023).
In recent years, their artistic work has increasingly involved music production and the development of songs, spoken word, spells, and invocations - alongside of their deepening sculptural practice exploring their relation to sacred swamps, ancestry and trauma.
Be it through art making, writing, or education, Jasper's activities root in queer ecology, environmentalism, land-based ways of knowing, rejected wisdom, science fiction, the more-than-human, sex, gender, and search of identity — the interplay between these fields spawns the work of this maker.
Credentials
Venus Jasper holds an MFA (Master of Fine Arts) from the Piet Zwart Institute Rotterdam (2013) and is trained in Permaculture Design, Reiki, Somatic Psychotherapy, Speculative Writing, and Music Production. Their work was presented at MU Hybrid Art House Eindhoven (NL), LungA Festival (IS), Rupert (LT), AIRIE Florida (US), TENT Rotterdam (NL), Garage Rotterdam (NL), Zone2Source (NL), 1646 (NL), Tidens Krav (NO), Museum IJsselstein (NL), Lustwarande Tilburg (NL), IMPAKT Festival (NL), Odapark (NL), Melkweg Expo (NL), Onomatopee Eindhoven (NL), and MuHKA Antwerpen (BE), amongst other.
Besides their artistic work, they are a freelance curator for RE_NATURE (2021-2022) and are/were a course tutor at BEAR ArtEZ Arnhem (2023), Ecology Futures MA MICV/St. Joost Den Bosch (2021-22), Scenography AHK Amsterdam (2024-25), and mentor at RE: Opera, Sandberg Institute (2024).
More information?
Connect for general inquiries, bookings, sales, studio visits, collaborations. Also check out my other work below.
A full CV is available.
Curating