Meri Toivanen (b. 1996, Finland) is an Antwerp-based painter who explores the borderlines of figuration and the symbolism of power games throughout the painting process. Let Sleeping Dogs Lie is her first solo exhibition and the culmination of her five-month residency at MORPHO this Spring, which was organised with the support of the Finnish Cultural Foundation. In the exhibition, Toivanen depicts allegories of conflict and power in oil paint, in addition to experimenting with self-made pastels, ink, gouache, watercolours and ceramics. Referencing fragments from Finnish cinema, she plays with the transformation and disconnection of these images from their original material, place and context.

MORPHO is a non-profit organisation dedicated to artistic development. They give time, space and resources to artists, with the aim of fostering a dynamic and sustainable context for artistic work. As a studio provider, they rent out workspaces in a growing number of buildings in and around the city of Antwerp. As an artist residency, they annually host around 20 residents from Belgium and abroad whom we support in their projects and trajectories.