Pink and Innocent, 2026
Latex masks, papier-maché, oil on canvas and ceramics
Painting 60 x 80cm

Melissa Van Havere is a mixed-media artist who explores the relationship between human and non-human animals through painting, sculpture, ceramics and performance. During her residency at GlogauAIR she researched animal ethics and rights and created works using bright colors and a naïve and playful visual style.
Van Havere has created various works about pigs; masks to perform in, as well as paintings and ceramics. These works were created to inspire empathy for these gentle creatures and show them as beings with feelings and agency, worthy of our compassion.
“I come into this world through my caged mother. Pink and innocent, curious and ready to explore. Confused, I find concrete instead of grass and mud under my feet. I tremble and shake for I realize this body does not belong to me. You have reduced it to pink flesh that you feel entitled to consume. I leave this world by your hands, pink and innocent, terrified.”