Delete the page There is a new you About to enter The stage Raise the bar Announce the birth of Your new, improved Avatar
“Delete The Page” image and poem from: Soul Collective – Poems and Paintings, by Marthe Bijman, p. 7. (July 2025, 2nd Ed., Blurb Books, ISBN 979-8-31-996715-2). Painting: Acrylic on board.
About the poem
In “Delete the Page” I describe the temporary nature of online identities, something which is common today and which never ceases to intrigue me. Artists can give themselves any name they want, any time they want to, and that name appears on their artwork (song, playlist, graphic design, painting, written work, podcast, etc.) and identifies them along with their image or standard headshot. Performers, especially, change their names depending on which genre they are working in.
With time, an artist’s name, perhaps thought up while in a rebellious or provocative frame of mind, may not suit them any more. And then, like virtual plastic surgery, the artist can delete the old one, and reveal a new identity.
In the painting, I portray an older version of someone who has been a public figure most of their adult life, and still is. He has had quite a few artist names. And he has changed, more than just physically. I often wonder, what would his new avatar be, if he had to do a relaunch at this very moment?
SEVEN CIRCUMSTANCES 
“Delete The Page” image and poem from: Soul Collective – Poems and Paintings, by Marthe Bijman, p. 7. (July 2025, 2nd Ed., Blurb Books, ISBN 979-8-31-996715-2). Painting: Acrylic on board.
About the poem
In “Delete the Page” I describe the temporary nature of online identities, something which is common today and which never ceases to intrigue me. Artists can give themselves any name they want, any time they want to, and that name appears on their artwork (song, playlist, graphic design, painting, written work, podcast, etc.) and identifies them along with their image or standard headshot. Performers, especially, change their names depending on which genre they are working in.
With time, an artist’s name, perhaps thought up while in a rebellious or provocative frame of mind, may not suit them any more. And then, like virtual plastic surgery, the artist can delete the old one, and reveal a new identity.
In the painting, I portray an older version of someone who has been a public figure most of their adult life, and still is. He has had quite a few artist names. And he has changed, more than just physically. I often wonder, what would his new avatar be, if he had to do a relaunch at this very moment?
About Soul Collective
Next time: “Who Made You”? – and other poems about appearances
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