Liliane Vertessen (°1952, Leopoldsburg, Belgium) has used photography and her own appearance since the beginning of her career. These elements form the starting point of her multimedia installations. Still, she cannot be directly classified into a specific art trend.
In her work, Vertessen regularly combines analog photography with neon lights. The poses in which she photographs herself are erotic and highly staged. Vertessen plays with the different roles of a woman: the seducer, the lady, the object of desire, the prostitute and the innocent girl. They are both celebrated and criticised. Vertessens's work has many similarities with painting: staging, the self-portrait as a subject and the creative process that always takes place in the intimacy of the studio. The works of Liliane Vertessen often feature melancholic elements. They recall past images and contain a poetic and very authentic power.
Liliane Vertessen remains an atypical player. Although she often portrays herself in her work as someone assertive who puts herself at the forefront, she is and remains modest. Vertessen does little to move to the centre stage in the art world.