is a visual artist based in the Hague
working on a publication for 'Taalvlucht' on birds named after their sound.
working on 'Waar is Couperus?' a research into the disappearing writer Louis Couperus.
Ode aan de Oase
solo exhibition
Stadskantoor Gemeente Utrecht, 2024
From the 27th September until the 31st of October my exhibition Ode aan de Oase will be on show at the first floor of Stadskantoor Utrecht, celebrating the October month theme 'Plant je mee?'. Two existing photographs and six new ones all tell us stories on the climate, biodiversity in the city and creating a greener front- and backyard. Think of replacing tiles with a special bee garden or planting good small trees with fruits like the fig or rowan!
> Click on photo to continue
Dick de Vries & Zoon presenteren:
Eady van Acker en Louisiana van Onna
duo exhibition
Kapper & Kunst, 2024
Dick de Vries and Boris de Vries invited us to do a duo exhibition at Kapper & Kunst at Stationsweg 133A in The Hague. In this exhibition Eady and I showed an overview of work made in the past few years. The theme that drove us was the idea of new and old life in nature. A combination of photography and ceramics was shown.
> Click on photo to continue
Taalvlucht
group exhibition
Kunstenfestival Watou, 2023
For Kunstenfestival Watou I created an in-situ work around birds named after their sound, focusing on the cuckoo, turtledove and the oriole. Together with inhabitants of Watou and nature guide Guido Quaghebeur from Natuurpunt Poperinge I investigated the interpretation of the sound of these birds.
This will be on show from July 1st - September 3rd, 2023
> Click on photo to continue
Geruisloos, Geluidloos
duo exhibition
Kunsthal Kloof, 2023
For Kunsthal Kloof Bram Engelaar and Louisiana van Onna got paired up together to create a duo exhibition. Both coming from a photographic background they challenged themselves to use perspective in a challenging way. Where Bram focusses on technique, Louisiana focusses on the concept. In this exhibition you are invited to move, play and search in the space.
This will be on show from July 14 - August 20, 2023
> Click on photo to continue
Spark Birds & The Loneliness of Species
exhibition
Buitenplaats Kasteel Wijlre, 2023
During Spark Birds & The Loneliness of Species is an exhibition on Spark Birds in the arts. Artists with different backgrounds and different disciplines use the bird as a metaphor, symbol or source of inspiration in their work. During this exhibition my work Upupa Epops will be on show.
> Click on photo to continue
Upupa Epops
exhibition
Prospects, Art Rotterdam, 2023
On the occasion of the grand 'Start' by Mondriaan fonds 73 artist show their work during Art Rotterdam in the van Nelle fabriek. In the project Upupa Epops, I dive into the phenomena of birds named after their sound with the ultimate example: the hoopoe.
> Click on photo to continue
Klimaatverhalen
exhibition
Museon, Nov 2022 - Nov 2024
In the exhibition Climate Stories people are made conscious of one the most important topics of this time: climate change. This topic is touched upon by different animals, metereological instruments and other items by the collection of Museon-Omniversum.
> Click on photo to continue
Ik zie, ik zie
project
ITGWO, 2022
In a collaborative project, Sabine Rovers and I went to Vlieland during ITGWO 2022 to capture the kids gaze on the island. We wondered: how do kids view the festival and island, do they see things differently as we do? Together with 10 kids we wandered the island with a magnifying glass to look for the most beautiful or overseen things that need just that little bit of extra attention.
> Click on photo to continue
LAB22: Duo Kenneth & Louisiana
exhibition
19-21 August, 2022
During the summer of 2022 a curatorial program was organized by Thijs ten Brummelhuis and Michèle Bergsma. Every weekend of August a selection of two to three artist organize a show with a specific happening on Friday. For this show Kenneth Moreno Kiernan and Louisiana van Onna combined their works in a duo show for one weekend.
> Click on photo to continue
Blauwdruk, Tuinen Mien Ruys
exhibition
April 1 - October 31, 2022
In the Mien Ruys gardens (Dedemsvaart, April 1 - October 31, 2022), Louisiana is taking over the 'Wiekend'-space an exhibition and meeting space to iconize Dutch biodiversity and highlight on the hand its decline but on the other hand it's outstanding beauty. Whilst showing The Butterfly Defect, a photographic project on the disappearance of the Alcon Blue butterfly, she also organizes cyanotype workshops using local flowers and plants from the Mien Ruys garden. Part of the exhibition is a special new work in collaboration with Jan Dirk Adams on the celebration of flowers in the form of a table and series of prints.
> Click on photo to continue
Future of Nature, Wageningen University
exhibition
June - September 2022
At the Future of Nature exhibition at Wageningen University all participants of the Future of Nature collectives are combined in a group show. This collective was formed by MIAP and active over a period of two years. At the exhibition Louisiana's project The Butterfly Defect is shown.
Framing the climate
project / exhibition
September, 2022
Collaborative project with Museon, The Hague
Climate change, a problem often too big to understand, but quite real. How can we make a subject like this tangible? Climate change affects more than we might think. Objects filled with stories from the archives of the Museon will function as a conversation starter to talk about climate change. From masks of the Inuits from Greenland, a culture that has to shift all their habits and tradition because of the sea level rising, to dead coral of affected areas in the sea by global warming. All have a story to tell. And although a simple object might seem dusty and dull, we'll bring back the magic and richness these objects deserve.
> Click on photo to continue
Blauwdruk, Diamond Greenhouse
exhibition
August, 2021
During the Beeld & Beleving festival (Bergeijk, August 1 - Sept 1, 2021), I have taken over the Diamond Greenhouse at the local Mien Ruys garden as an exhibition and meeting space to iconize biodiversity and highlight its decline in the Netherlands for the past years. Whilst showing The Butterfly Defect, a photographic project on the disappearance of the Alcon Blue butterfly, in the greenhouse I have organized cyanotype workshops using local flowers and plants from the Mien Ruys garden.
> Click on photo to continue
The Butterfly Defect
project
July 2021
Easy to overlook, due to it’s size, but whenever you see them, pressed in your memory due to it’s magical blue color. Zigzagging they leave a trace in front of you, before quickly disappearing. The Alcon Blue. 30 years ago all the wet moors in the Netherlands were covered with them. A beautiful sight and with that an icon for our biodiversity. Slowly, the Alcon Blue is turning into a forgotten icon, disappearing from our collective memory. With this project, I'm trying to recreate an image of this very special butterfly and bring it back in order to understand the preciousness of our biodiversity in times of the continuing upswing of climate change.
> Click on photo to continue
Future of Nature
artist portrait
May 2021
With the support of MIAP Foundation, I got to be one of the artists from the 'Future of Nature' collective. On the occasion, this video is part of a series of artist portraits made by MIAP Foundation. I'll take you along a day of working on my project The Butterfly Defect, and show you the beginning of this poetic campaign.
> Click on photo to see the video
Koninginnedag tentoonstelling
exhibition
April 30th, 2021
During Queensday 2021 a Queensday fleamarket was organized at Hgtomi Rosa. Participating artists were asked to design a blanket the way they like. This could contain artworks or objects from home, referring to the functions of Queensday (now Kingsday) as a sales fleamarket. My contribution focussed on collected objects from nature that I hold close.
> Click on photo to continue
Science or photography? Design or fine arts?
exhibition/lecture
October 15 2019
Lecture night by ZEFIR7 at Stroom Den Haag
Lecture night focusses on women artists working with themes related to science. How does the world of science overlap with the world of arts? And how do you use your inspirations and transfer them in books? Together with Marijn van der Leeuw and Suzette Bousema, Louisiana talks about her proces and discoveries and gives you insight into her work.
> Click on photo to continue
here we weigh more, there we jump higher
graduation video
2019 - ongoing
Graduation video
In the video 'Here we weigh more, there we jump higher', I am investigating the difference in gravity throughout the Netherlands. Being inspired by the Bouguer gravity anomaly, I put signs on the locations in the Netherlands with an abnormal amount of gravity. The signs stay here until the gravity changes again. In collaboration with the TNO I am continuing this project.
> Click on photo to continue
here we weigh more, there we jump higher
graduation project
2019
Graduation installation
In the project 'Here we weigh more, there we jump higher', I am investigating the flexibility of a constant force; gravity. Of the four fundamental forces of nature, gravity is the one we're most intimate, yet least understood. Being inspired by the fluidity of the force I created an installation in which I research both the actual differences in the percentage of gravity in The Netherlands, and imagine what a world with fluid forces could look like.
> Click on photo to continue
pole-to-pole
project
2019
collaboration: Lighthouse Texel/Birdwatch Delft
The arctic tern is the organism that travels the biggest distance of all each year. In his whole life this is just as much as three times up and down to the moon. This bird is a symbol for its ultimate connection with the earth. How fascinating is it, that they navigate by the use of the earth's magnetic field, the position of the sun and the location of the stars. We as humans used to navigate by nature, but now are replacing it by new technological methods like the TomTom or Maps. By becoming more dependent on technology and less on nature, the world seems to become more disenchanted. Can we go back to how we used to navigate in the same way as this bird, in a time where we are being lead by technology? What is it like to rediscover this connection by investigating the mind of the arctic tern?
> Click on photo to continue
alt. 1239 meters
project
2018
Measuring has been a method used that goes way back in history. It's how humankind tries to make sense of the grotesqueness of nature. We objectify nature, so we can measure it, test it and study it. With the ultimate goal of unravelling its secrets. By investigating nature like the German explorer Alexander von Humboldt, I am questioning the measurement system used in the always changing landscape.
> Click on photo to continue
We all fell from the sky
project
2017-2018
For the past few years, multiple space organizations have been working on the question if life could have been created by a meteorite impact. Therefore, scientists are busy unravelling the formula of creating life. With me, one big question arose: Did we fall from the sky?
> Click on photo to continue
Haaglanden
commission
2017
Every day about 20 destruction animals arrive at animal crematory Haaglanden. The destruction animals consist out of pets as well as wild animals. Being saved in large containers by the crematory, they await being picked up by a company to be part of a big group cremation. As these animals don't get the attention and love the personal cremations get, I got to portray their loved side as a last memoir for the already forgotten animal.
> Click on photo to continue
The end is where we start from
project
2017
When my grandfather passed away, he donated his body to science. I never really knew where he went, but by investigating possible scenarios I ended up at the crematory and just when I thought this would be his final destination; it wasn't. This is a project about what remains of us after we die; is the end really the end?
> Click on photo to continue
is a visual artist based in the Hague
working on a research publication called 'Taalvlucht' on birds named after their sound
working on the project 'Waar is Couperus?' on the disappearing writer Louis Couperus
Ode aan de Oase
Stadskantoor Gemeente Utrecht, 2024
From the 27th September until the 31st of October my exhibition Ode aan de Oase will be on show at the first floor of Stadskantoor Utrecht, celebrating the October month theme 'Plant je mee?'. Two existing photographs and six new ones all tell us stories on the climate, biodiversity in the city and creating a greener front- and backyard. Think of replacing tiles with a special bee garden or planting good small trees with fruits like the fig or rowan!
> Click on photo to continue
Dick de Vries & Zoon presenteren: Eady van Acker en Louisiana van Onna
Kapper en Kunst, 2024
Dick de Vries and Boris de Vries invited us to do a duo exhibition at Kapper & Kunst at Stationsweg 133A in The Hague. In this exhibition Eady and I showed an overview of work made in the past few years. The theme that drove us was the idea of new and old life in nature. A combination of photography and ceramics was shown.
> Click on photo to continue
Taalvlucht, 2023
Kunstenfestival Watou 2023
For Kunstenfestival Watou I created an in-situ work around birds named after their sound, focusing on the cuckoo, turtledove and the oriole. Together with inhabitants of Watou and nature guide Guido Quaghebeur from Natuurpunt Poperinge I investigated the interpretation of the sound of these birds.
> Click on photo to continue
Geruisloos, geluidloos
Kunsthal Kloof, Utrecht, 2023
In the exhibition 'Geruisloos, geluidloos' Kunsthal Kloof brings together the photographers Bram Engelaar (1994, Utrecht) and Louisiana van Onna (1995, Amsterdam) for an exhibition that questions the dynamics between technique and concept. What is leading in your artistic process? And how does this influence the perspective of the viewer and movement in a space?
> Click on photo to continue
Spark Birds & The Loneliness of Species,
buitenplaats Kasteel Wijlre, 2023
During Spark Birds & The Loneliness of Species is an exhibition on Spark Birds in the arts. Artists with different backgrounds and different disciplines use the bird as a metaphor, symbol or source of inspiration in their work. During this exhibition my work Upupa Epops will be on show.
> Click on photo to continue
Upupa Epops,
Prospects 2023, Art Rotterdam
On the occasion of the grand 'Start' by Mondriaan fonds 73 artist show their work during Art Rotterdam in the van Nelle fabriek. In the project Upupa Epops, I dive into the phenomena of birds named after their sound with the ultimate example: the hoopoe.
> Click on photo to continue
Klimaatverhalen,
Museon-Omniversum, Nov 2022 - Nov 2023
In the exhibition Climate Stories people are made conscious of one the most important topics of this time: climate change. This topic is touched upon by different animals, metereological instruments and other items by the collection of Museon-Omniversum.
> Click on photo to continue
Ik zie, ik zie,
ITGWO 2022
In a collaborative project, Sabine Rovers and I went to Vlieland during ITGWO 2022 to capture the kids gaze on the island. We wondered: how do kids view the festival and island, do they see things differently as we do? Together with 10 kids we wandered the island with a magnifying glass to look for the most beautiful or overseen things that need just that little bit of extra attention.
> Click on photo to continue
LAB22: Kenneth Moreno Kiernan & Louisiana van Onna,
19-21 August, 2022
During the summer of 2022 a curatorial program was organized by Thijs ten Brummelhuis and Michèle Bergsma. Every weekend of August a selection of two to three artist organize a show with a specific happening on Friday. For this show Kenneth Moreno Kiernan and Louisiana van Onna combined their works in a duo show for one weekend.
> Click on photo to continue
Blauwdruk exhibition,
April1 - October 31, 2022
In the Mien Ruys gardens (Dedemsvaart, April 1 - October 31, 2022), Louisiana is taking over the 'Wiekend'-space an exhibition and meeting space to iconize Dutch biodiversity and highlight on the hand its decline but on the other hand it's outstanding beauty. Whilst showing The Butterfly Defect, a photographic project on the disappearance of the Alcon Blue butterfly, she also organizes cyanotype workshops using local flowers and plants from the Mien Ruys garden. Part of the exhibition is a special new work in collaboration with Jan Dirk Adams on the celebration of flowers in the form of a table and series of prints.
> Click on photo to continue
Future of Nature, Wageningen University
June - September, 2022
Blauwdruk exhibition,
August 1 - September 1, 2021
During the Beeld & Beleving festival (Bergeijk, August 1 - Sept 1, 2021), I have taken over the Diamond Greenhouse at the local Mien Ruys garden as an exhibition and meeting space to iconize biodiversity and highlight its decline in the Netherlands for the past years. Whilst showing The Butterfly Defect, a photographic project on the disappearance of the Alcon Blue butterfly, in the greenhouse I have organized cyanotype workshops using local flowers and plants from the Mien Ruys garden.
> Click on photo to continue
Framing the climate,
ongoing project
In the project 'framing the climate' I investigate the past, present and future of climate (change) through items from the collection of Museon Omniversum. By taking the viewer on a travel along 8 stories you will discover different cultures, flora, disappearing and newly seen birds, how people and nature deal with drought and much more.
- click on photo to continue
Future of Nature artist portrait,
May 2021
Meet Louisiana van Onna, one of the artists from the future of nature collective. This video is part of a series of artist portraits made by MIAP Foundation.
> click on photo to continue
The butterfly effect,
ongoing project
In this research based project I am investigating the disappearance of of the Alcon Blue and it's 'thought-to be' subspecies the Dutch Alcon Blue, described by Lempke in 1942. Only a few places in the Netherlands reside the Alcon Blue itself. Slowly, the Alcon Blue is turning into a forgotten icon, disappearing from our collective memory. With this project, I'm trying to recreate an image of this very special butterfly and bring it back in order to understand the preciousness of our biodiversity in times of the continuing upswing of climate change.
- click on photo to continue
Science or photography? Design or fine arts?,
lecture for ZEFIR7 at Stroom, 2019
Lecture night focusses on women artists working with themes related to science. How does the world of science overlap with the world of arts? And how do you use your inspirations and transfer them in books? Together with Marijn van der Leeuw and Suzette Bousema, Louisiana talks about her proces and discoveries and gives you insight into her work.
Here we weigh more, there we jump higher,
graduation video, 2019
In the video 'Here we weigh more, there we jump higher', I am investigating the difference in gravity throughout the Netherlands. Being inspired by the Bouguer gravity anomaly, I put signs on the locations in the Netherlands with an abnormal amount of gravity. The signs stay here until the gravity changes again.
- click on photo to continue
Here we weigh more, there we jump higher,
graduation project, 2019
In the project 'Here we weigh more, there we jump higher', I am investigating the flexibility of a constant force; gravity. Of the four fundamental forces of nature, gravity is the one we're most intimate, yet least understood. Being inspired by the fluidity of the force I created an installation in which I research both the actual differences in the percentage of gravity in The Netherlands, and imagine what a world with fluid forces could look like.
- click on photo to continue
pole-to-pole,
commissioned assignment/exhibition, 2019
collaboration: Lighthouse Texel/Birdwatch Delft
The arctic tern is the organism that travels the biggest distance of all each year. In his whole life this is just as much as three times up and down to the moon. This bird is a symbol for its ultimate connection with the earth. How fascinating is it, that they navigate by the use of the earth's magnetic field, the position of the sun and the location of the stars. We as humans used to navigate by nature, but now are replacing it by new technological methods like the TomTom or Maps. By becoming more dependent on technology and less on nature, the world seems to become more disenchanted. Can we go back to how we used to navigate in the same way as this bird, in a time where we are being lead by technology? What is it like to rediscover this connection by investigating the mind of the arctic tern?
- click on photo to continue
alt. 1239 meters,
personal project, 2018
Measuring has been a method used that goes way back in history. It's how humankind tries to make sense of the grotesqueness of nature. We objectify nature, so we can measure it, test it and study it. With the ultimate goal of unravelling its secrets. By investigating nature like the German explorer Alexander von Humboldt, I am questioning the measurement system used in the always changing landscape.
> Click on photo to continue
We all fell from the sky
For the past few years, multiple space organizations have been working on the question if life could have been created by a meteorite impact. Therefore, scientists are busy unravelling the formula of creating life. With me, one big question arose: Did we fall from the sky?
> Click on photo to continue
PLANET INSTRUCTION,
project for the Observatory Science Centre, Herstmonceux, 2018
In 1967 the Sir Isaac Newton telescope was build in the former Royal Observatory in Herstmonceux, East Sussex. Due to a lack of light and ability to see the stars, the telescope was removed in 1990. The ones still there are astronomy hobbyists. I visited the observatory again, fascinated by the half shaped globes and the space enthousiast atmosphere there, I let the hobbyists pose with their ‘instruction planets’. A tribute to what it once was, but hiding spot for what it could be.
- click on photo to continue
What Remains
Every day about 20 destruction animals arrive at animal crematory Haaglanden. The destruction animals consist out of pets as well as wild animals. Being saved in large containers by the crematory, they await being picked up by a company to be part of a big group cremation. As these animals don't get the attention and love the personal cremations get, I got to portray their loved side as a last memoir for the already forgotten animal.
> Click on photo to continue
The end is where we start from
When my grandfather passed away, he donated his body to science. I never really knew where he went, but by investigating possible scenarios I ended up at the crematory and just when I thought this would be his final destination; it wasn't. This is a project about what remains of us after we die; is the end really the end?
- click on photo to continue