In her work, the Berlin-based Dutch artist Renee van Bavel deals with the themes of peace, humanity, freedom and democracy. By using various art forms, she initiates ways to approach and experience these topics at a personal level, as is emphatically shown in her space-encompassing work of art THE MIRROR OF PEACE. The viewers see themselves reflected in full size and read a text saying: “This is what people living in peace look like.” It becomes instantly clear that a life lived in peace cannot be taken for granted, and that we must act consciously—every day—to preserve this peace.

THE MIRROR OF PEACE will be on view in the park at Draiflessen beginning on the 10th of May.

The artist
“Through my work for various memorial sites and foundations in Germany and the Netherlands, I have met many people for whom the words war and peace have a vivid meaning. These encounters have made me very aware that I live in peace and that this should not be taken for granted. This process has ignited a fire in me to share this “peace consciousness” with the public. Not by explaining it, but by creating a form that enables people to experience it for themselves. That is THE MIRROR OF PEACE.
"It is my intention to place more versions of THE MIRROR OF PEACE in different countries around the world in order to create awareness: Peace cannot be taken for granted.”
- Renee van Bavel

About the work
THE MIRROR OF PEACE sheds light on a difficult subject in an accessible way. It connects the society in all its diversity, regardless of borders, gender, origin, religion, social backgrounds and age. In addition it is a communicative work of art: people who face each other in front of the mirror, can get into dialogue with each other, whether they know each other or not.

Anniversary “375 Years of the Peace of Westphalia”
Following its exhibition at the 59th Biennale Arte in Venice as a collaboration between the Draiflessen Collection, the artist Renee van Bavel, and the Abbazia di San Giorgio Maggiore - Benedicti Claustra Onlus, THE MIRROR OF PEACE has now entered the museum’s permanent collection.
2023 marks the 375th anniversary of the Peace of Westphalia, signed in the cities of Münster and Osnabrück. To mark this occasion, THE MIRROR OF PEACE will be open to the public in the park at Draiflessen beginning on the 10th of May.

Renee van Bavel and the Draiflessen Collection are pleased to present THE MIRROR OF PEACE as part of the anniversary commemorating this important treaty.