About me

Mayke Swemle (b. 1970, Amsterdam) is a Dutch artist currently living on La Gomera, one of the smaller Canary Islands. She studied photography at Royal Academy of Arts (The Hague) in the Netherlands. 

Mayke uses photography to pull you into her fantastic, unearthly world. She captures images of landscapes, animals,  plants and stars – from these images and by applying a digital collage technique she creates her own personal world. Her works shift the boundaries between reality and artificiality. In her search for what is pure and mysterious, estrangement and desolation seep through.

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In 2019 she paused her career as a photographer. Her constant back pain made photographing and editing impossible. She started a new business as a Pilates teacher on La Gomera.  After 6 years she managed to be pain free and nowadays she makes new artwork again, next to her Pilates business - www.bodymindgomera.com.

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Her transition from the vibrant rhythm of Amsterdam to the quiet, wild beauty of La Gomera, marks a deepening alignment with nature, wellness, and creative reflection—both in her career and daily life. Living at the intersection of art, movement, mindfulness, and the natural world, she creates and moves in harmony with the land that surrounds her, cultivating a more rooted and intentional way of being. 

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La Gomera is the island where she started in 2011 the ongoing project Fable of the Forest . In 2025 she is almost back pain free and starts slowly to create new artwork again.

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Work is for sale in some galleries on La Gomera or contact her by Whatsapp.

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