Ineke De Soete - Iveesweet
Interdisciplinary Artist
“WHEN YOU TAKE ACTIONS TO BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD, MAGNETICALLY DEVINE HANDS WILL COME TO AID.”
Hi Ineke, How are you?
Hi, grateful for having me! I am currently still embracing and humming on the timbre of winter, fuelling my inner self with this stillness to enrich my artistic research and practice. I think the energetic flow of anchoring delicate firm roots at the beginning of a new year is an intensive process, often unseen but necessary to release built up rigidity and stuck identities.
Conducting silence is an unthinkable necessity for my state of being. It creates an ever lasting chance to look within with a kaleidoscopic view touching the keynotes that need to be felt in that specific moment for every transformational crossroad of my micro-macro cosmos.
Tell us a little bit more about yourself and your work!
I am Ineke Vera, the visionary poet behind “ivee sweet”, currently living and working itinerantly between Brussels — Belgium and Morocco. I am known as an eclectic and vibrant soul with a unique and linguistic dreamy lens to perceive the world.
As an interdisciplinary artist I am devoted to embody and bring more love on this planet. My work consists of a contemporary merging of fine art — exploring, cross-examining and interweaving different visual art forms as well as applied art media.
Every artwork serves as a vessel, a container holding a specific vibration resulting in the needed recalibration of the viewer’s state of being. My creative process holds no specific end result and it purely flows out of an extension of the visions dictated to me by the interconnectedness of pure love and carried by the gold frequency, eternally present among us all and often represented in my work by the golden thread.
I strongly believe that there is a resonance between the harmony of our source connection and the harmony in the cosmos, like an invisible symphonic danse of energy. By materialising this invisible danse into a physical mixed media layered artwork and in transcending the boundaries of artistic disciplines I challenge my senses and aim to create an immersive safe space for the viewer to peel off his own layers and to remember his true essence — pure love made real.
How did you get started?
Although my practice is informed by a background in graphic design and a decade of work experience in visual and concept design in fashion and merchandising strategies, I always kept a heartfelt and fascinating interest in visual arts since being a child. From a young age I felt being “different” in reflection to my socio-environment and the world could feel enormously overwhelming. Pencil drawing, writing and music have been continuous light points during my childhood and adolescent years to calm down my nervous system and exploring my sensing abilities.
But it was not after experiencing years of chronic physical pain and fatigue leading to being diagnosed in 2022 with Fibromyalgia and CVS, that I decided to leave the “rat race life” and to fully focus on my physical and internal well-being on all levels.
With this vulnerable healing and transformational process I gave myself the freedom of receiving and perceiving my shadow as an ally. Step by step shedding and transmuting my own process into my intuitive gifts, allowed me to channel this revelation into my self-taught art oeuvre and to finally devote myself the fullest to my dream of being an independent visual artist inspiring and guiding others.
You are an artist with lots of different talents, what are some of the essentials for you in your workspace?
*smiles* First of all, light! Lots of natural light to capture our rare Belgian sunny moments and fuel my (he)art with it. Next to that, I like my workspace to be in harmony, meaning an organised decluttered space so energy can flow freely where it needs to go in that very specific moment of creating. It also helps to keep my productivity high and to being awake to my senses without any unnecessary distractions.
Mineral pigments and mediums that are essential for my working process are henna powder, Nila — both in stone and powder, Aker el Fassi powder, golden thread, chinese ink and gold/white paint. Working tools not to be missed are a compass and some rulers, different needles, painting brushes and a disposable 35mm film camera.
My little altar with gemstones, candles and illuminating books are always present. Music is essential too, not only for listening but also for playing the duduk or ney flute myself.
What is something that fuels your creativity?
My dreams and visions, mysticism, ancient art forms, sacred geometry, the complex patterning and connection between the human and natural worlds, my personal heritage of an ongoing research on the (un)consciousness and (un)seen frequencies are all subjects that deepens my interests and creativity.
Being surrounded by the sun, night sky and nature, particularly water and the sea is an enormous support for my creative flow. It puts my state of mind out of time and space giving me the chance to purely align with the divine and to feel the source presence in the world.
If you could collaborate with someone from a different discipline, who would it be and why?
I’ve always been intrigued by architecture and how the play between form, materials and light within its environment can speak to me like a poem. So I immediately think of architect Tadao Ando, as well as Hannsjörg Voth and James Turrell. They emphasise the correlation between nature and form honouring and implementing the environment’s spirit and beauty in their work.
As Ando said “we borrow from nature the space upon which we build”, so have been many ancient cities, sacred complexes and monuments all over the world been built in function of celestial and earthly energy. Putting this into perspective with art and giving birth to ephemeral form rooted in nature’s principles seems like a very empowering and learning full process to me.
If your art could be exhibited anywhere in the world, where would your dream venue be?
I certainly dream of being exhibited at the Venice / Cairo Biennale and MoMa one day. But I wouldn’t be me if my ultimate dream stretches out the classical box of an exhibition.
The absolute dream venue would be in otherworldly nature where the art installation becomes subjective to the infinity of the landscape and the viewer plays an essential immersive role illuminating his connection with the divine on earth. Places that I think of are Antarctica’s Blood Falls, Brazil’s Lençóis Maranhenses lagoon dunes or the Richat Structure in the desertic vastness of Mauritania — also known as the Eye of the Sahara.
Can you give us a sneak peek of your upcoming plans?
I am currently exploring sound art and how it influences and simultaneously enforces the body and mind on a somatic and cognitive level. Nowadays we are surrounded with an insane amount of invisible frequencies that have an impact on our well-being. Sound is in essence invisible and I strongly believe that the field of sound art will be an interesting and needed case in the coming time. Composing art with music feels like an extremely graceful hybrid process and I hope to share more of it this upcoming year.
The past year I was also shaping my dream to lay down roots in Morocco and I am continuing to do so this year. Every aspect of my being feels home and finds solace when residing there. I will continue to enrich my artistic practice with the further search of natural mediums and the inspirational traditional crafts art.
Tell us something to inspire the culture!
When you take actions to be the change you wish to see in the world, magnetically divine hands will come to aid. Every single one of us holds unique talents to enrich its community, both internally and collectively. Now is the time to pierce any form of oppression and access our authentic experiences of bold self-expression enhancing and rippling a more loving world to live in.
