Nettlework
In memory of Marie Baten
2025
Nettlework is a memorial for the witchhunts in Peelland, with the stinging nettle as translator of our history. I was raised with the stories about witches, and in my research I came across the depth and impact of what happened in these towns. Most of the women who were prosecuted worked from home as spinners and weavers for the local textile industry, their position as homeworkers made them more vulnerable for these trials. This history brings me to the exploration of natural textiles and storytelling.
I grew up at the Kasteelweg in Mierlo, a Dutch town part of region Peelland. As the street name refers to: there used to be castle here. In 1595 the lord that lived in this castle, Erasmus van Grevenbroeck, started a witch hunt. Starting with prosecution of Marie Baten the witch trials traveled through the surrounding towns. Within 3 months 28 women were prosecuted. The trials started in the castle, often followed by the water test in the river, and eventually brought the woman to the Hoenderboom at the Strabrechts heath where they were burned.
The stinging nettle is a plant we avoid, consider as a weed and is even hated. However, we overlook its medicinal properties, its strong fibers and the knowledge it carries. I used its fibers to make paper. By patchworking I create the image of the Hoenderboom, the place of execution. Before it hang 2 pillars, they refer to the gate of the castle, the last part of the ruin that was destroyed in 1948. Together they form a space of silence and resilience. When the light shines through the work the leaves of the nettle become visible, telling the story of what happened to many prosecuted women.
Watch the nettle-paper production video here: