Joanneke Meester's Trash Healer Practice: From Street Assemblages to Help Helps
Joanneke Meester, born in 1966 in Purmerend, is an artist based in Amsterdam who repurposes waste as a 'Trash Healer.' As a member of the Poubelle collective, established by Mirjam Berloth and Lisbeth Parisius, she creates text-based sculptures from discarded materials. In September 2025, she presented 'Help Helps' at the Tetterode building during the event Show me your waste – I show you mine, collaborating with local residents and Montessorischool students. This project will also be exhibited at Bella Vista Park in 2025/2026. Meester's 'Your Trash is My Treasure' series, initiated during her BijlmAIR residency in 2020, includes pieces like 'Give Me a Break' and 'Green River,' displayed in June 2025. She co-founded Patchwork in 1992 and obtained her master's from Sandberg Instituut in 2005. Her 'Signs' series started in 2012, and she is set to join the group exhibition 'Dingen' at Cpunt in Hoofddorp beginning May 7, 2026.
Key facts
- Joanneke Meester was born in 1966 in Purmerend.
- She creates sculptures from discarded materials on Amsterdam streets.
- She performed 'Help Helps' in September 2025 at Tetterode building, Amsterdam.
- The performance involved nine participants carrying white plastic waste letters.
- 'Help Helps' was also installed at Bella Vista Park in Amsterdam in 2025/2026.
- Meester's 'Your Trash is My Treasure' series started in 2020 during a BijlmAIR residency with CBK Zuidoost.
- Permanent works 'Give Me a Break' and 'Green River' were shown at Kennedy Van der Laan in June 2025.
- She co-founded Patchwork in 1992 with Elleke Haspels and Karolien Helweg.
- Patchwork's 'Very Important Persons' was installed in the Hofvijver in The Hague in 1993.
- Patchwork's 'Peace Buddha's' was installed in Vondelpark in 1994.
- After her son Finn's birth in 2000, Patchwork dissolved and she made video portraits shown at W139 in 2003.
- She earned a master's from Sandberg Instituut in 2005.
- Jos Houweling was director of Sandberg Instituut.
- In 2004, she made a controversial body art piece from her own skin.
- Her 'Signs' series began in 2012 for Kunstcentrum Signe in Heerlen.
- 'When Words Fail' (2019) is a monumental typographic work.
- From May 7, 2026, she will be in 'Dingen' at Cpunt in Hoofddorp with Feiko Beckers and Su Tomesen.
- Curator Radek Vána invited her for 'Dingen'.
- Graphic designer Melle Hammer placed photos of her assemblages in the wijkkrant OpNieuw.
- Poubelle was founded by Mirjam Berloth and Lisbeth Parisius.
Entities
Artists
- Joanneke Meester
- Mirjam Berloth
- Lisbeth Parisius
- Elleke Haspels
- Karolien Helweg
- Jos Houweling
- Melle Hammer
- Radek Vána
- Feiko Beckers
- Su Tomesen
- Ester Fabriek
- Alex de Vries
Institutions
- Poubelle
- CBK Zuidoost
- Kennedy Van der Laan
- Patchwork
- W139
- Sandberg Instituut
- Kunstcentrum Signe
- Cpunt
- Montessorischool
- Amstelkwartier
- Bella Vista Park
- Augustiana Kunstpark & Kunsthalle
- Breitner Academie
- Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten
- Galerie Rento Brattinga
- Mister Motley
- Dinamo
Locations
- Purmerend
- Amsterdam
- Tetterode building
- Bella Vista Park
- Zuidoost
- Nieuw West
- The Hague
- Hofvijver
- Vondelpark
- Heerlen
- Hoofddorp
- Denmark
- Parijs
- Brussel
- Amsterdam Hilton
- John Lennon & Yoko Ono suite
- Netherlands
- United Nations