Irene Ha / Baby Reni (1997,NL)
“I want to make the World more important than my problems. Therefore, I have to make my problems social.” - Chris Kraus
But The World is exactly what my problems are about! Channeling the Pokemon character Pikachu – who seems cute and pet-able, until it reminds you of its powerful thunderbolt attack – I want to tackle all prejudices developing and representing my own counterculture, existing of an international community of like-minded souls I encountered through shared experiences in URL and IRL. In these communities, complex layers of emotion unfold into simplified, sometimes grotesque imagery. This fast paced flow of information motivates me to seek authenticity in bootlegging the bootleg, memeing the meme. Operating as Baby Reni, I want to fulfil this role as multidisciplinary persona; I can be anything I want to be, just like the internet told me. I often find myself fulfilling the roles of an activist, a matchmaker or cloth designer…seeking for a collective feeling of ‘care’ by multiplying and spreading the scarf like a disease (or… rather, the scarf will protect you from the disease).
STOCKISTS
ABCND STORE / AMSTERDAM
SALON, LYDIA RODRIGUES COLLECTION / NEW YORK
3STANDARDSTOPPAGE / NEW YORK
URL
Sauce Magazine featured on SUBBACULTCHA * GRA Fashion feauture on OFICINA GARBADINE * Wayfinders featured on COEVAL MAGAZINE * "Be Nice 2 Me" on MISTER MOTLEY * SELECTED 2020 Video Portrait * "WHOEVER YOU'RE HIDING AWAY WITH (Gleaners) a shortfilm by Jules van den Langeberg * Baby Reni x Sim Fane "WHERES SHE LIVED" scarf *
SHOW(S)(CASED)
2021
“Salon no.12, KING”, LYDIA RODRIQUES COLLECTION, Melissa store @Broadway, New York
"Soft Openings", SANG's x 3standardstoppage, Sang's bodega, New York
"The Endless Garment" curated by Jeppe Ulgevig , X MUSEUM, Beijing
2020
"Be Nice 2 Me", SALON | Mister Motley, Online Exhibition, The Internet
Winner of + nominated for GRA Awards SELECTED, Categorie Applied Arts, Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam
Nominated for “Lichting 2020”, Amsterdam Fashion Week
"Whoever You're Hiding Away With" curated by Jules van den Langeberg, Fashion Show 2020, Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam
Funded by Stichting Koningin Sophia Fonds, funding program for women specialized in Textile work
2019
“Salon no.10, CANDY”, LYDIA RODRIQUES COLLECTION, New York
Group exhibition “OAS1*5”, De School, Amsterdam
2018
“Salon no.08”, LYDIA RODRIQUES COLLECTION, New York
Sauce Magazine Issue 2 Release Exhibition “Probiotic”, De School, Amsterdam
Duo Exhibition “De Keet”, Code Rood, Arnhem