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Ellen Dhondt presentation

M-resident presents research

10.10.25

22.02.26

M Leuven

M-resident Ellen Dhondt in the M-studio at Cas-co — Elias Derboven for M Leuven

Ellen Dhondt’s presentation marks the conclusion of her five-month residency at M. Through distinctly figurative visual language and the character Ellie Dolly, she explores prevailing normative ideas and taboos within society.

M-resident Ellen Dhondt — Elias Derboven for M Leuven

Ellen Dhondt (b. 2000, Belgium) lives and works in Ghent. In 2023, she obtained her master’s degree in fine arts from KASK – School of Arts in Ghent. She has participated in several (group) exhibitions in Pizza Gallery (Antwerp), Maison des Arts (Brussels), Het Bos (Antwerp), Giftshop (Ghent) and Filthy Brunette (Ghent). She was awarded second prize in the Art Contest 2024.

Fascinated by 1920s cut-out paper dolls and the design of educational worksheets, Dhondt places Ellie Dolly in a variety of situations and environments. These seemingly light-hearted scenes probe issues of gender stereotypes, dogmatic pedagogy, and the construction of female identity.

During her residency, Dhondt was inspired by the relics in the M collection, which led her to examine the fetishization of the body and the ways in which mystical properties are attributed to objects such as a lock of hair. She explores how relics are used to construct narratives and lend legitimacy to fictional characters. In her new work, she plays with these mechanisms, experimenting with spatial objects.

M presents the results of Dhondt’s residency from 10 October 2025 to 22 February 2026.

M-resident Ellen Dhondt in het M-atelier bij Cas-co — Elias Derboven for M Leuven

Een detail van ‘P is for Punishment’, Ellen Dhondt, 2024 — ‘P is for Punishment’ (detail), Ellen Dhondt, 2024, photo: Anneke D'hollander

Het kunstwerk ‘L is for learning’, 2024 (links) ‘Cowgirl’, 2023 (rechts), door Ellen Dhondt — ‘L is for learning’, 2024 (on the left) ‘Cowgirl’, 2023 (o the right), Ellen Dhondt, photo: Anneke D'hollander

Het kunstwerk ‘He loves me, he loves me not’ van Ellen Dhondt, 2024, foto: Anneke D'hollander — ‘He loves me, he loves me not’, Ellen Dhondt, 2024, photo: Anneke D'hollander

Het kunstwerk ‘Ellie Dolly on a playdate’, Ellen Dhondt, 2023 — ‘Ellie Dolly on a playdate’, Ellen Dhondt, 2023, photo: Anneke D'Hollander

Het kunstwerk ‘Ellie Dolly on a playdate’ van Ellen Dhondt, 2023 — ‘Ellie Dolly on a playdate’, Ellen Dhondt, 2023, Photo: Maya Van De Gehuchte

‘Cowgirl’, Ellen Dhondt, 2023, photo: Maya Van De Gehuchte

Accessibility

M-residency

M supports emerging talent and, through residency work, gives artists the opportunity and space to deepen their artistic research and develop new work. Every year, two artists are selected for the M-residency, who are guests at the M-atelier in Cas-co for five months. They follow an intensive trajectory with substantive, financial and technical guidance, culminating in a presentation in M.

Find out more about the M-residence of Ellen Dhondt