Maria Escarpenter

Maria Escarpenter (Spain, 1999) is a multidisciplinary artist and performer based in Amsterdam. Their practice is rooted in personal history, using storytelling, performance, and visual language to explore identity and the tensions within the gender binary. Through making, they seek to understand themselves and reflect on the complexity of the social systems we live in.

Working from personal experience, Maria creates safe spaces where vulnerability becomes a starting point. By opening up themselves first, they invite audiences into processes of transition, both personal and collective, encouraging others to do the same. Their work encourages connection through sharing, listening, and presence, where moments of openness can grow into a sense of community.

Performance is central to their practice. Through the body and live action, Maria works within the ephemeral, understanding it as something that endures, where the memory of an experience can remain longer than any material object.

Maria studied Fine Arts and Graphic Design at TAI in Madrid. They have worked with La Juan Gallery and Los Doscientos, interned at Pallas Projects in Dublin, and currently collaborate with NDSM Fuse in Amsterdam.

General description of the project: MY INNER MONSTER
Inner Monster is a self-portrait project that explores the relationship between identity, fear, and self-acceptance through the metaphor of an internal creature. Inspired by the persistent inner voice that accompanies decision-making, doubt, and personal growth, the project visualizes this voice as a monster that evolves alongside its host.

Often perceived as something threatening, this creature represents the parts of ourselves we suppress, ignore, or struggle to understand. Shaped by anxiety, social expectations, shame, and desire, it transforms over time, reflecting the tensions between who we are and who we feel we should be.

Through a series of self-portraits, the project investigates the process of confronting and redefining this internal presence. Rather than portraying the monster solely as an antagonist, the work examines how fear can mask honesty, intuition, and authenticity. By giving form to this internal figure, Inner Monster invites viewers to reflect on their own hidden selves and the complex journey toward self-understanding and acceptance.