Process, projects and context 


Tasting Tendrils, Royal Academy of Fine Arts, 2026

an exhibition curated by Mathias Mu arising from year-long collaborations 
aligned with his ongoing research into digital fabrication 
using organic and edible materials.

With works and performances by Julia Tröscher, Ivania Carpio,  
Nik Naudts,  Nina-Joy Thielemans,  Justine Grillet, Daan Peeters & Mathias Mu
©Lina van Hulle



Schelde imaginaries;  tijstoppen (and events), 2026 

tijstoppen is a groupshow bringing together work of 6 artists exploring
the relationship between Antwerp and River Scheldt.  

Participating artists: 
Kiara Govaert, Carmen Molenaar, Samantha Pellarini, Joris De Rycke, Nina-Joy Thielemans, Niel de Vries. 

 curated by Niel de Vries and Nina-Joy Thielemans.
`Scenography and pedestals by Nina-Joy Thielemans.
more info; https://scheldeimaginaries.eu
©Niel de Vries

Manuport, 2025 - 2026


A series of sculptures and photographic works emerging
through dialogue with the Schelde, where Margueriedok
forms its living foundation.
©Fabien Silvestre Suzor
Baking of the Manuport works in a pitfire, 2025 


Manuport is a series of sculptures and photographic works emerging through dialogue with the Schelde, where Margueriedok forms its living foundation. The series borrows an archaeological term for unworked objects, stones, shells, or pieces of wood, that early humans collected for their aesthetic, symbolic, or suggestive resemblance to familiar forms. From an affinity with this early, sensory aesthetic, the works emerge from direct experiences of the dock, learning from its behavior: tides, found objects, sounds, Nereis, flora, and slib interpreted as the language of the site. By attuning to the site's cycles, processes, and pollution, forms are created that are intimately tied to the here and now, Antwerp, and life along the river.
Collecting wild clay or slib from the Margueriedok, 2025. 
The tone of form: Ikebana

2025
A design with stones, metal pins and flowers, accompanied by an instructional poem.


Elif Özbay: Something About a Double Edged Sword

Elif Özbay: Something About a Double Edged Sword

01.07.2023
Scenography and sculptural collaboration between Elif Satanaya Özbay and Nina-Joy Thielemans.  
Creating sculptures and curating design objects. 
Performed at : MORPHO
© Tomasz Skibicki
The heat of the memory keeps the moment alive

2019
Wooden construction, plaster, insulation wool.
Creating a space for reliving a memory. 
210 x 100 x 93 cm
© Lotta Kestens
Visual research leading to The heat of the memory keeps the moment alive.
Particals: LP Garzweiler

2024 - 25
Sonic and visual exploration of the Garzweiler site in Germany, with Justine grillet and
Karina Zharmukhambetova.
https://ultraeczema.bandcamp.com/album/garzweiler
Lamppost

2018
Concrete Iron, Cardboard, Wallpaper, Glue, prints
341 x 20 x 20 cm
©Anneke D’Hollander
Works and studies from the same period as lamppost
© Nina-Joy Thielemans 

ninajoythielemans1@gmail.com