The search for The Invisible Women project started with my graduation project about the folktales of the Witte Wieven, the forgotten spirits who once were wise women living in the forests of the East of the Netherlands. I have been visiting the specific places of the folktales where the women are being mentioned and searched for clues of what was left of them in the landscapes of my rational-driven country the Netherlands. 

These landscapes, waters, trees, and rocks were once sacred places for people to connect to the spirits of the forests, by performing rituals, sacrifices or just by being there.  

Many of these landscapes and bodies of nature have been taken away from the places where they belong, like the big rock in Oldenzaal that was brought from its hill in the forest to the church, to stop the belief in these spirits. Luckily there are also still some magical places left, although hidden and rarely mentioned.

 At the same time the belief in the wise women (the witte wieven), started to fade away in our history. Framed like evil, scary witches their misty appearance might be a residue of what they once were.

But if you visit these places you will see they are still there. You can hear them in the leaves and see them in the water. They are their landscapes, their surroundings, in the pebbles, rocks, the twigs and the soil. 

They will keep you curious, bring back the childlike mind, wondering about what else there is on this world that we can’t see. But we will have to remember them, visit them, and talk about them for if we will not, they will be lost forever.

This story consists of a written research (The search for the Invisible Women), and a visual research. Both will be put together and remade into a book, with the additional stories of invisible women I found while traveling.

Please send me an email if you’re interested in reading the research so far, or if you have any questions, or recommendations regarding the story.