Merel MAY
Fine Artist
EXPLORING, CREATING & PAINTING
New
Zoektocht
89×100, Oil on canvas
2026
Zoektocht, Dutch for “a journey of searching,” reflects both the physical experience of finding my way through the mountains and the deeper journeys of life. I often move forward without knowing where the path will lead, guided by the desire to keep exploring.
The painting is inspired by an overnight hiking experience when solitude, fatigue and changing weather transformed the familiar landscape into something mysterious. Reaching a mountain peak, I expected a breathtaking view, but found the landscape largely hidden by mist. The mountain revealed itself in fragments. Colour, stone and atmosphere became more prominent, while glimpses of the path appeared and disappeared among the rocks.
Zoektocht also represents my personal search for belonging. Walking the 13 day Grampians Peaks Trail through Gariwerd became an exploration of my connection to a landscape, country and culture that are not originally mine. Through time spent walking and sleeping in the mountains, I discovered moments of connection that went beyond the physical journey.
The painting reflects this ongoing search. The way forward is not always clear, but unfolds step by step through mist, stone and silence. What remains is not an answer, but a process of listening, discovering and connecting with the landscape.
GPT in Life, Offline
71×99.5x4cm
2026
GPT in Life, Offline explores the contrast between immersion in Country and the return to a human-shaped landscape. The title refers both to the Grampians Peaks Trail and to a period of disconnection from the digital world, where walking, time and attentive looking create a more direct encounter with Gariwerd.
From the mountain, roads, fields and property boundaries become visible as patterns imposed upon the land. Against this ordered and fragmented landscape, a solitary tree and two wedge-tailed eagles represent a living presence beyond human boundaries. The tree is both resilient and vulnerable; the eagles move freely above it.
The expansive viewpoint creates a moment of stillness and contemplation, inviting consideration of the relationship between human systems and the natural environment. The work reflects on what becomes visible when digital distraction falls away: the scale of Country, its interconnectedness, and the place of human life within it.
Ik hou van je
60×130, Oil on linen
2026
A fogged window becomes a threshold between places and identities. For migrants, home is rarely a single location. It is layered, shaped by memories, languages, and landscapes that coexist across continents. Looking onto a quiet Australian street, the handwritten Dutch words Ik hou van je (“I love you”) express a declaration of love that could belong anywhere. Whatever the language, a note traced on a fogged window carries a universal warmth. It transforms a space from simply a house into a home, where belonging is created through connection rather than geography.
About
Hi G’day! Goededag!
I’m Merel May Tieland, a Dutch-born artist currently based on Bunurong Land*, the Mornington Peninsula. My immigration to Australia in 2023 was a transformative experience, allowing me to fully dedicate myself to my art. Drawing from formal education in Fine Art and Design at ArtEZ in The Netherlands and a Master’s degree in International Development Studies with a focus on sociology, my artwork examines how human experience, environment, and cultural narratives shape one another.
Human interactions with nature are a central source of inspiration in my art. Moving between realism and impressionism, I explore subtle moments of beauty and thought-provoking subjects that invite reflection. My recent paintings focus on the impact of climate change on younger generations. Although the subject itself can feel absurd and almost abstract, I approach it in a realistic and detailed way. In contrast, with my photography series Earthlines, I move away from realism and search for abstraction within nature itself.
Since relocating to Australia, I have actively engaged with the local art community through artist in residencies and group exhibitions. My work has been featured in e.g. Tangent at Unbound Gallery, Art of Nature at Frankston Art Centre, Footsquare at Aspire Gallery (finalist), and Nostalgia at Untether Gallery. Internationally, my art has been recognized in The Netherlands through exhibitions including Little Art at Caro ART Gallery and as a finalist in Fragile (Breekbaar) photo exhibition at Coda Museum.
In 2025, I was extremely honored to be a finalist in the prestigious Dutch national TV show Gezonken Meesters in the Gerrit Dou category, highlighting my evolving presence in the realist art scene. My work has also appeared in respected publications including Dutch Art Magazine Uitwaaien, and Australian House and Garden.
See latest list of exhibitions and publications.
Picture by @yannicreative