2026 Pietra Dura (stone-inlay), 24 cm x 15 cm x 1 cm.

This pietra dura mosaic depicts a landscape in the Niger Delta, Nigeria, marked by decades of oil extraction and repeated oil spills linked to the petroleum industry, including Shell. Rivers, wetlands and mangrove forests have been contaminated, leaving lasting scars on the ecosystem and the communities that depend on it.

The composition combines labradorite with Belgian black marble. The iridescent flashes of the labradorite recall the shimmering surface of an oil slick, where light catches the dark, contaminated waters. A deceptive beauty emerges from a landscape shaped by environmental devastation.

The meticulous craftsmanship and opulent aesthetic of Pietra Dura, an ancient Italian technique, stand in stark contrast to the destruction it portrays.

Biography

Lola Prima Donna Daels °1990, Brussel (BE).
Member of Level Five, Brussels.

 

 

Lola Prima Donna Daels (b. 1990 in Jette, BE) is a Brussels based artist. Leaving from found objects, she poses critical inquiries about the ecological and socio-political situation. By reshaping and integrating her relics into new contexts she questions the concept of authenticity in our globalizing society. She has exponentially gravitated towards researching the human impact from an ecological preoccupation. She works site-specifically, both in research scope as well as in execution. 


Daels obtained her master degree in visual arts in 2014 at Luca School of Arts, Brussels. She has been part of several residency programs such as EKWC (NL), Kooshk recidency (IR) and Cité Internationale des Arts (FR). Her work was shown at Bozar (BE), Extracity Kunsthal (BE), Deegar Platform (IR), Art Sonje Center Seoul (KR) and many more.

Her interest in urban complexities led to the collaboration with architect and urbanist Sebastiaan Willemen. 

Upcoming

2026 
 

  • Contour Series #3: First Floor, Groendomein Vrijbroekpark, BE
    Vernissage June 5, 2026
    5 June – 30 August 2026
    Group Exhibition curated by Andrea Cinel.
     

  • Poets wederom Poets, De Nor, BE
    16 August 2026
    Group Exhibition curated by Dennis Tyfus
     

  • Found, Boekentoren Gent, BE
    Vernissage February 2, 2026
    3 – 27 February 2026
    Group Exhibition & the second part of the trilogy Lost and Found – Caring for What Is (about to disappear).
    The exhibition is curated by Tine Hens, author of Archief van mogelijk verlies (EPO, 2025).


     
  • Solo Exhibition, Salon Blanc Ostend, BE
    Vernissage October 24, 2026
    Solo Exhibition curated by Els Wuyts en Yves Velter.

Texts and publications

2025

  • Ruimte Magazine: Bomen & bossen, Meesterproef; Sociaal Wonen "Moederbos" P.67

  • A+ (306), Building for Culture, Sociaal Wonen P. 115.

  • Damn Magazine, KEIKOPPEN: A Radical Ode to Resilience and Reinvention

2024


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