Ine Poppe, Pin-ups (with stoma bags), 2026, Coloured pencils on paper, 40×30 cm (cropped)
In 2024, following major surgery in a Dutch hospital, Ine Poppe woke up with a urinary stoma. From that afternoon on, she joined the exclusive group of stoma wearers. In her upcoming exhibition at the Suzanne Biederberg Gallery, Poppe, shows life with a stoma in a humorous and artistic way.
Stomata is in Latin the plural of stoma, the word for opening. It saves lives, yet a taboo surrounds the subject. Generally, stoma wearers remain invisible in public discourse, aside from second-rate comedians making cheeky jokes about it. Yet many people carry this secret with them: statistically speaking, there is one stoma wearer on every crowded Amsterdam ferry. Ine Poppe breaks the silence. Using various artistic methods and techniques, she reveals what it means to live with such an unusual extra opening.
Ine Poppe is a Dutch artist whose work encompasses painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, and film. She is known for art projects like Moedermelkkaas (Breast Milk Cheese), Beftival, and Vrouwen met Baarden (Women with Beards), and for her journalistic work for the NRC-Handelsblad newspaper. At the Gallery, Poppe will exhibit, alongside ceramics, photographs, and objects, her drawings from STOMATA, a graphic novel she is creating in collaboration with Hanneke van der Hoeven, to document her experiences with this new “outlet”. Several pages from STOMATA have already been published in Spring, a German graphic novel anthology.
Further events (dates to be announced): During the course of the exhibition, Poppe will engage in conversation with medical experts and people with a stoma. What does it mean for the wearer and those around them? What types of stomas are there, and what is the history of the stoma? Why is the stoma a taboo subject? How do artists approach this topic?
The artist is available for interviews. For more information or press material, please contact the gallery.
Stomata is in Latin the plural of stoma, the word for opening. It saves lives, yet a taboo surrounds the subject. Generally, stoma wearers remain invisible in public discourse, aside from second-rate comedians making cheeky jokes about it. Yet many people carry this secret with them: statistically speaking, there is one stoma wearer on every crowded Amsterdam ferry. Ine Poppe breaks the silence. Using various artistic methods and techniques, she reveals what it means to live with such an unusual extra opening.
Ine Poppe is a Dutch artist whose work encompasses painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, and film. She is known for art projects like Moedermelkkaas (Breast Milk Cheese), Beftival, and Vrouwen met Baarden (Women with Beards), and for her journalistic work for the NRC-Handelsblad newspaper. At the Gallery, Poppe will exhibit, alongside ceramics, photographs, and objects, her drawings from STOMATA, a graphic novel she is creating in collaboration with Hanneke van der Hoeven, to document her experiences with this new “outlet”. Several pages from STOMATA have already been published in Spring, a German graphic novel anthology.
Further events (dates to be announced): During the course of the exhibition, Poppe will engage in conversation with medical experts and people with a stoma. What does it mean for the wearer and those around them? What types of stomas are there, and what is the history of the stoma? Why is the stoma a taboo subject? How do artists approach this topic?
The artist is available for interviews. For more information or press material, please contact the gallery.