Hags, Healers, and Timekeepers
Today’s Western society is built around the idea of linear time: a world where constant innovation is expected and consumption never stops. My bachelor’s thesis at the Erasmus University 'Hags, Healers, and Timekeepers: Rethinking Temporality Through the Witch Archetype', offers a critique of this constructed idea of time and is deeply rooted in feminist theory. And the portraits I made for my graduation project at WDKA shows the individual experiences of modern day witches in regards to this idea of linear time.
During conversations I had with modern witches living in the Netherlands, I started to understand the way they see the world and this idea of cyclicality. Living with the seasons, the moon, your cycle. To take your time and find solitude in just being in the moment.
The research within this project argues that witch hunts were not just acts of misogynistic violence but also central to the rise of capitalism. By devaluing women’s reproductive labor and limiting their autonomy, they reinforced structures of power that still shape ideas of ‘womanhood’ today. Looking at modern witches allows me to rethink how past and present connect, and how has the witch archetype transformed? In the interviews, I explored the witch as a potentially transformative figure, one that challenges linear time and opens space for alternative ways of living. And so my aim with this research is to reclaim an identity historically shaped by persecution. ‘Witch’ is still a term often used to belittle, to mock, to accuse. With this project, I want to challenge that legacy by showing the richness and diversity within contemporary witchcraft. It is rooted in reciprocity, care, and connection to the natural world. It makes ‘witch’, for many people a title of honour.
Summer of 2025 I graduated both at the Erasmus University in Cultural Analysis and at The Willem de Kooning Academy in Photography. This thesis will mostly remain in the academic realm, read by a limited audience. Through the portraits, I will be able to reach a larger audience where the language is universal.
[Graduation project at Willem de Kooning, 2025]
