Best wishes to Bayonne Rongen: AX Emerging Artist in Residence – Ceramics, April 2022

Artist Statement
During my residency at AX, I created the series “Duimelientje en de sprookjes tuin” (Duimelientje and the fairy garden). This series consists of four collaged handmade terracotta tiles. Within the series you see the main character, Duimelientje navigating the fairytale forest throughout her childhood. Each tile showcases a representation of how Duimelientje interacts with the mystical creatures within the garden. In the first two tiles you notice Duimelientje interacting more with the creatures around her, however as she grows up throughout the tiles she seems to be losing her connection with the other characters around her due to her ageing overtime and letting go of her childhood imagination and innocence. I heavily relate with Duimelientje since her story relates to how I felt about immigrating from one country to another by navigating the loss of one world and gaining access to another.


Artist Bio
Bayonne Rongen was born in Limburg, Netherlands and moved to Fredericton, New Brunswick in 2006. She completed her Bachelor of Arts with a major in Fine Arts at Mount Allison University in 2020. Rongen is heavily influenced by Dutch folklore and applies that to her work. Rongen has worked as a child art instructor at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery and is currently pursuing a career in teaching.

To see more of Bayonne’s work, visit her on instagram.


Thanks to the RBC Foundation’s Emerging Artists Project for making it possible for us to host Bayonne Rongen, our AX Emerging Artist in Residence – Ceramics.