Marlou Fernanda - A Time for Everything
From October 10

Marlou Fernanda: A Time for Everything

New exhibition Marlou Fernanda

Opening 10 October 2025 at Wereldmuseum Rotterdam. With this multidisciplinary retrospective, Rotterdam-based artist Marlou Fernanda (b. 1996) reflects on ten years of independent artistic practice. She invites visitors into her colourful, personal, and at times confrontational world, where self-expression and the right to take space take center stage.

The exhibition is structured as a journey through four "seasons" of her life and work. From her strikingly large paintings to never-before-seen sketches and handwritten notes, A Time for Everything offers a multifaceted and intimate glimpse into who Marlou is—as an artist, a person, and a woman. 

“Taking up space has always been an act of resistance for me. As a young woman of color, a self-taught artist, and a dreamer, I’ve often had to carve out space where it wasn’t naturally given. This exhibition is that space—not just for me, but for anyone who wonders where and how they’re allowed to exist. It’s a question we all share: where can I be, and how can I fully be myself there?” - Marlou

Marlou Fernanda

The Role of Alter Ego Nu-Nu

At the heart of Fernanda’s work is Nu-Nu, her expressive alter ego, which for years served as a vital channel for her self-expression. The exhibition traces the origin of Nu-Nu, how this figure helped her become visible, and how she eventually begins to let go of it. This journey touches on themes of identity, family, and finding one’s place in a world that doesn’t always welcome you. 

Through handwritten texts and an interactive installation, Marlou Fernanda invites the public to reflect on their own associations and personal stories around the themes of self-expression and claiming space. 

Marlou Fernanda | First Major Retrospective

With previous presentations at Kunsthal Rotterdam and Stedelijk Museum Schiedam, Fernanda is no stranger to the contemporary art scene. Her strong online presence has helped her large, colourful canvases and expressive videos become a recognizable voice among a new generation of artists. 

A Time for Everything presents the full spectrum of her work for the first time—raw and reflective, powerful and vulnerable—just like Marlou herself. The exhibition closely ties in with the documentary Los van Nu-Nu (directed by Denise Janzée), which follows Fernanda over three years in her artistic journey. The documentary will premiere this fall at the Netherlands Film Festival and will also be screened at Wereldmuseum Rotterdam on Saturday, November 8, in collaboration with Roffa Mon Amour. 

Marlou Fernanda, A Time for Everything opens on October 10 2025 in Wereldmuseum Rotterdam.

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