Rijksmuseum

Metamorfosen

An immersive spoken-word performance with live sonic dramaturgy, inspired by Ovid’s Metamorphoses and its reinterpretation throughout art and history.

For the Rijksmuseum’s Metamorfosen exhibition I presented a spoken-word piece and soundscape inspired by the works in the collection and the mythic worlds they represent.

I challenged myself to let the artworks dictate the sound, using active imagination to create an extra layer of sensory experience.

Marieke McKenna performing among plants and low light at the Rijksmuseum — Performing *Metamorfosen*, Rijksmuseum, 2026

A painted hand whose fingers turn into laurel branches against a dark ground — René-Antoine Houasse, *Apollo Pursuing Daphne* (detail), 1677. Oil on canvas, Palace of Versailles.