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

* 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 * LICHTING interview * Feautured on CULTURED MAG * ARTSY page * TNL! Design Dialogues * CAPWALK #2 on Palanga Street Radio * Lockdown report by Het Parool * Bootleg Baby Reni guestfeature at MULTIFEMALE MEGAMIX *

SHOW(S)(CASED)

2021 

2nd prize + nominated for LICHTING 2020 in 2021, Amsterdam Fashion Week, Hermitage, Amsterdam 

"TNL! Design Dialogues, Care and Community in Design" paneltalk with Elisa van Joolen, Het Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam

“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

"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