iArts Project #3
February - April 2023
Under the umbrella of ‘Imagine the Brain, imagining Human – Mirror-Mirror, we will focus our interdisciplinary research on three phases:
I. During the first four weeks of the project, you will be devoted to theoretical and artistic (interdisciplinary) research. We will focus on ‘Body & Mind’, ‘Imagination’, and ‘Classification’. These are three of five themes from the catalogue and exposition ‘Unhinged at Museum Dr. Guislain. The museum shows the history of and current discussions in psychiatry and mental health care, art and madness. We will visit the museum (staying overnight in Ghent).
II. In the fifth week, we will start with a workshop ‘fashion and the psyche’ guided by a guest teacher. During another workshop you will learn about how to create and an exposition, your teachers will be the curators. You will show imaginaries of your artistic and theoretical research from the previous weeks in a ‘site specific exposition framework’. This expo, called ‘IN BETWEEN’, is open to the public in the evening. Until week 9, we will delve into the temporary exposition of Museum Dr. Guislain ‘Mirror-Mirror’. With the knowledge and insights that we gained during the first four weeks we will develop multi-media artworks that will relate to the concept of this exposition. At the end of week 10 we will make an exposition of your work in Museum Dr. Guislain.
III. In week 8 the artwork needs to finished, week 9 will be devoted to documentation, assessment and reflection, week 10 is devoted on installing the exhibition and its opening.
I have a very analytical mindset and usually create art with a purpose and calculated materials. It is important for me to use my materials sustainably, and the assignment have often encountered resistance in myself for this reason. And still, I prefer those creations of mine that received more planning and thinking, over those that were mainly intuitive. But I can see the value of artistic research.
For this exhibition, I reviewed everything that I learned up to that point. I revisited the research I did on “Aktion T4” and on the Straitjacket.
I wanted to create a straitjacket that shows how mentally ill people are suppressed in our society but celebrated and supported in many native cultures.
I once again used waste materials that I had laying around at home, as well as some natural materials that I collected around the exhibition site.
[The artwork had to be created on the day of the exhibition within about 6 hours]
