Between 2020 and 2024, Carine Van Gerven developed an ongoing series of still lifes responding to the social and political realities of their time. Each work integrates elements drawn from contemporary events, not as direct commentary, but as subtle traces embedded within the image.

The still lifes originate from ordinary objects and carefully constructed compositions. At first glance, the images appear restrained and contemplative. Through sustained attention, however, layers of tension become visible — referencing moments of crisis, transition, and collective uncertainty.

Global events enter the work indirectly. Political shifts, public health crises, and societal disruptions are translated into material choices, colour relationships, and spatial arrangements. The images resist illustration, allowing the symbolic charge to remain open and ambiguous.

Throughout the series, abundance and absence coexist. Objects suggest care, ritual, and continuity, while the absence of human presence underscores isolation and distance. The still life functions as a space of containment, where the domestic becomes a site of reflection on the world beyond.

The works follow a cyclical rather than linear understanding of time. Recurring motifs appear and reappear across years, echoing patterns of restriction, release, tension, and adaptation. In this sense, the still lifes operate as visual scores: composed with precision, yet activated through the viewer’s interpretation. Still Lifes (2020–2024) approaches the still life not as a neutral genre, but as a contemporary tool for reflecting on how world events quietly permeate everyday life.