2024

Artist Novel, 21 x 14,5 cm, 223 p., language: Engels.
Materials:

Collection: Collectie M HKA.

Literary synopsis

The protagonist, Leo, an artist-curator, moves towards a profound journey, curating an exhibition that reflects his collective psyche through intense personal experiences and collaborative artistic identities. Throughout his journey, Leo navigates the complex interplay between individual and collective realities, seeking to dissolve the boundaries between the visible and the invisible. The narrative culminates in a multifaceted experience, exemplifying the transformative power of open-mindedness. As Leo assembles his new group of artists, his commitment to nurturing a supportive environment is evident in the atmosphere he cultivates around the exhibition. The space he creates embraces vulnerability, encouraging artists to confront their most challenging experiences, fears, and hopes, transforming these into sources of inspiration and creative expression. Ultimately, the exhibition transcends far beyond a singular moment, becoming a fragmental entity in the ongoing exploration of displaced human consciousness. 

Relation of the novel to the artist’s practice

As part of the artistic research process that I engaged this artist’s novel “Power of Discrimination” is written and presented. The reflections coming from this research take its shape in an installation form where the artist novel is experienced. This installation -Novelscape- embodies not only the physical or narrative landscape of the novel in which artistic expressions occur but also the introspective journey of individual, social, collective, and spatial bodies within this research process. Through the realities of displacement and open-mindedness, this work explores how artists harness their imagination to conceive alternative and innovative ways of perceiving and interpreting all situations. As displaced people navigate challenges, creative faculties may delve into uncanny realms, conjuring negative mental landscapes due to the adversities unique to their status. The artist’s novel suggests a profound intersection between personal introspection and public expression, serving as a mirror reflecting the artist's inner world and a window through which others can glimpse their journey of self-discovery and artistic evolution. This refined concept suggests a richly textured narrative realm within the artist's novel and its making processes, intersecting larger themes of imagination and personal expression, and exploring the multifaceted process of artistic development and self-realization.