Floere Astrid Braet





©2024 


(Y)our History – Floere Braet
2024-2025


In her master’s project, Floere Braet explores the tension between beauty and violence, with a particular focus on the hidden histories embedded in materials. Starting from the notion of conflict materials - resources often tied to exploitation and environmental degradation - she poses critical questions about ethics, value, and aesthetics in the arts.

A key part of her research delves into Belgium’s colonial past in Congo, and the country’s present role as the world’s largest exporter of cobalt. This material, essential for lithium batteries in smartphones and other electronics, is frequently mined in unsafe conditions, with severe social consequences.

In response, Braet carved a small hand from tagua nut, also known as "vegan ivory": a plant-based, ethical alternative that simultaneously refers to the iconic Antwerp hand and Belgium’s colonial legacy. By reimagining this symbol, she opens a space where collective memory and personal reflection can co-exist.

Braet’s work poetically confronts viewers with the tension between what we desire and what we’d rather not face. By making the friction between ethics and aesthetics tangible, she invites us to reconsider value - in objects, in stories, and in a history that resists being told in a single voice.

Graduate Expo, 2025