For Onboards Biennale 2021 ‘SHOW UP / SHOW OFF’ Mikes Poppe created Tela bianca/Post-azione: a self-portrait as an anonymous artist.


I am wearing a white overall, gloves and a balaclava.
My only tool is a white, virgin canvas.
I hit the canvas with my head.
I repeat this action until my head and body fully penetrate the canvas.


On May 12th 2021, photographs of my action were taken by photographer Marcel Lennartz in an Antwerp studio. The image I created for Onboards is a semi-still: several moments of the action are overlaid and fused into one image. I am interested in the unavoidable but cathartic moment of inertia and silence after the act of destruction.

The Antwerp ONBOARDS Biennale is an exhibition of artworks displayed on the city’s street billboards:
The exhibition presents artworks from national and international established and upcoming artists and works from art students in the streets of Antwerp. The biennale aims at bringing art closer to society, addressing the general public in their daily environment, and offering a possibility of participation for both artists, stakeholders of the art world, and the audience. more info: www.onboards.be

© Mikes Poppe, photo: Marcel Lennartz