Annet Gelink Gallery presents Dit Licht Achter Mij (Light Behind Me), an exhibition by Erik van Lieshout. Dit Licht Achter Mij brings together works on paper, sculptures and a new video work. The exhibition’s title is drawn from a one-line poem by Wim Lemmens, a pig farmer from Ysselsteyn who stopped farming in 2025.
The exhibition is part of De Gloeiige (The Fen-fire), Van Lieshout’s ongoing investigation, begun in 2022, into the social and political tensions surrounding his birthplace, Deurne, located in De Peel region. Over the twentieth century, this former peatland was transformed into an area of intensive agriculture. Today, efforts to restore the wetlands and protect nature are reshaping the landscape once again, with profound consequences for the farmers who live and work there.
Government buyout schemes offer financial compensation to farmers who give up livestock farming, but the consequences extend far beyond financial considerations. For many farmers, giving up their livelihood also means leaving behind a way of life deeply connected to their identity, family history and sense of belonging.