We are excited to announce our fourth Open Letter of 2025. This edition features a letter by Daisy Madden-Wells, titled A Spore Spat Across The Star-Way. It opens on Wednesday 1 October.
To activate the letter she will organise an evening filled with poetry on 22 October at 17:30. Lena Longefay and Alejandra López will prepare a selection of cookies inspired by the recipes of Hildegard von Bingen the 12th-century mystic.
Each cookie is designed to evoke or encourage different states of being—such as warmth, coolness, or passion—and the chosen poems will be inspired by these same qualities. Together, the readings and the tastes will form a playful dialogue between text, flavour, and emotion.
Drawing from her research into apocalyptic verse, Daisy’s letter speaks to the fractured moment in which we find ourselves. Zooming out and then in, from the dance of the cosmos to a single footstep, she seeks to offer a moment of respite through a poem (that can double as a clapping-game if needed). The imagery itself is inspired by the illuminated writings of William Blake—the sun/star/spore emerging from the depths of heavy cloud, a dogged optimism.
Daisy Madden-Wells is a multidisciplinary artist and writer, exploring the creation of both personal and cultural mythologies through the language of decorative symbolism—encompassing heraldry, religious iconography, archetypes, recurring characters, folk demons, magic, advertisements—imagery upon which the structures of power, identity, and ‘agreed’ history are built.
On view: Wednesday 1 October – Tuesday 28 October
Vernissage & activation: 22 October | 17:30–19:30
Open Letters is an annual project offering artists and writers in The Hague a platform to share urgent and vulnerable messages.
This project is made possible with support from the Mondriaan Fund and the Municipality of The Hague.
Image: illustration in the process of being etched on copper, made by Daisy Madden-Wells during Frans Masereel residency
