About me

Bianca Runge – Artist

I am Bianca Runge, an artist fascinated by the relationship between humans and nature. My work explores how consumer society leaves its traces, while at the same time showing the possibility of renewal. Through my installations I invite people to reflect, to feel connected, and to discover that change often starts with small steps.

Materials with a story

I work with discarded materials such as jewelry, carpets, and remnants of prosperity. They carry their own history and speak about the time we live in. Aluminum tree trunks covered with beads or “overgrowing” textures represent the fragility of forests, but also the hope of regeneration. Cut-open carpets form new pathways – an invitation to literally and metaphorically take another route.

Installations and collaborations

My practice often takes the form of large, site-specific installations. One example is Labyrinth of the Future, a project I developed over three years. It combines art, nature, and collaboration with musicians, dancers, and sound artists. In Goes, the labyrinth attracted over 2,600 visitors; in Ruigoord it connected deeply with the ecological and cultural history of the artist village. Each location adds new layers of meaning and increases the impact of the work.

Vision

The central theme in my practice is regeneration: the earth’s ability to restore itself once we stop exhausting it. I believe art can play a role in this process – by confronting, inspiring, and opening up space for imagination. Small actions, like planting a tree, removing pavement, or creating a home for insects, can together make a big difference.

Personal

My fascination with nature and materials began in childhood. Growing up between new housing blocks and sandfields, I collected small treasures – beads, coins, pieces of metal – to build my own world. That sense of wonder still drives my work today: creating stories that connect, and offering new ways of seeing and imagining.

 I am Bianca Runge, an artist exploring the relationship between humans and nature.

Using discarded materials and large-scale installations, I reflect on the traces of consumer society while pointing to the possibility of renewal.

My work invites reflection, inspires hope, and shows the regenerative power of the earth to grow again.

Foto: Martijn Lie Hap Po

Labyrinth of the Future

In the artwork “Labyrinth of the Future,” beads proliferate over softly gleaming aluminum trunks, while fragmented carpets form the ground, giving nature a voice and challenging our consumer society.

Each trunk becomes a new canvas on which the artist “paints” with surplus beads, inspired by the colors of the old carpets. The beads, chains, and occasional shreds of old wedding dresses spread like moss and pests, forming their own patterns. They seduce and allure until one realizes their deeper message. By cutting into traditional carpets, a new perspective emerges on traditional patterns and their symbolism. The artist assembles them, much like she used to create collages. New paths open up, inviting viewers to come closer.

The trunks are storytellers, silent witnesses of a world in which trees increasingly yield to economic interests. Like real trees, they communicate with each other through an invisible network. They are a layered metaphor for the tension between humans, nature, and the decay of culture. This imagery confronts viewers with the impact of industrialization and human activity on our natural environment.

The materials used carry their own histories. Smyrna carpets gained popularity during the post-war reconstruction in the 1950s and, like jewelry, symbolize our prosperity. Industrialization made many items accessible to everyone, while increasingly rapid advertising fueled consumerism. Wealth seemed boundless and capable of growing endlessly toward the sky. Today, we witness the disastrous consequences all around us.