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Podcast Lauch: The “Lilian-eum” by artist Maaike Leyn, 11 November 2023.

November 1, 2023 / / 0 Comments

When artist Maaike Leyn’s father-in-law passed away, she and her husband fell heir to an extraordinary work of art by Belgian Liliane Vertessen.

It had been commissioned in the early 1980s by her partner’s father, who worked as a psychiatrist, and it had found a place next to his home office. As such, this was rather peculiar, since the artwork is an arrangement that is akin to a seedy boudoir, consisting of erotic self-portraits of Vertessen, a chair with leather BDSM restraints and neon lighting.

Leyn was challenged by the practical implications of this inheritance but was also intrigued by the piece itself; and it certainly raised a lot of questions. She decided to channel these into a podcast entitled Lilian-eum, the name convivially given to the artwork by the family. In the twenty episodes of the podcast, she embarks on an investigative quest attempting to unravel the origins of the Lilian-eum, why it was installed where and how it was, as well as figuring out its place in Liliane Vertessen’s oeuvre. Furthermore, she seeks to contextualise it in the artworld of that time as well as inquire into the socio-political climate in which it was created.

Hence, there are two lines running through the podcast, which intertwine perfectly in the narrative Leyn construes. One is the personal aspect (the search for who her father-in-law was, why he and his wife wished this artwork to be made, what her partner’s recollections of it are, and why Maaike and her partner finally inherited the installation), the other is an art historical investigation in the broader tradition of Michael Baxandall (who is this artist Liliane Vertessen and what were the conditions that instigated her to create a work like this during that particular time?).

The number and nature of the interviewees that can be heard on the podcast is impressive – there are museum officials and other art world insiders, artists, a psychiatrist, different collectors, art critics and academics. And last but not least, in the final episodes, Liliane Vertessen herself, rounding up Leyn’s mission in a most satisfactory way. Moreover, sound artist Stijn Demeulenaere did a wonderful job tying all stories together with some intricate and excellent editing work.

I am very honoured to have been part of Leyn’s journey as one of the people interviewed. In my segments, I discussed the tense years of the early 1980s in Belgium (the high inflation, the cold war atmosphere, the deadly guerilla actions of the Cellules Communistes Combattantes, the horridly violent and still unresolved robberies of the Gang of Nivelles, and so on), as well as outspoken feminist tendencies and discourses in the art world and beyond at the time including the so-called sex wars, the relation of Vertessen’s work to the picture generation that made waves back then, and punk aesthetics.

Last Sunday, 29 October, Maaike Leyn introduced the podcast at Mu.ZEE (https://www.muzee.be), the museum of art in Ostend, Belgium, which owns a few of Vertessen’s works. The real kick-off, however, will be on Saturday, 11 November 2023 at the Podcast Festival of the Flemish newspaper De Standaard, also in Ostend (see: https://podcastfestival.standaard.be/nl/line-up/het-lilian-eum-premiere/201 – website in Dutch).

The full list of episodes is as follows:

Part 1

Episode 1: Phyline Deldycke, Anais Isebaert, Dirk De Wachter

Episode 2: Bart De Baere, Anais Isebaert and Emmanuel Isebaert

Episode 3: Phyline Deldycke, Paul and Marie-Rose Declercq

Episode 4: Phyline Deldycke

Episode 5 and 6: Francis De Beir

Episode 7: Mieke Mels, Anny T’Jampens, Leo Copers

Episode 8: Paul and Marie-Rose Declercq

Episode 9: Elke Helbig, Tom Nys, Mieke Mels, Ria Pacquée

Episode 10: Anny T’Jampens

And of course, Liliane Vertessen herself.

 

Part 2

Episode 12: Mieke Mels and Tom Nys

Episode 14: Dirk Pultau

Episode 17: Dirk De wachter

Episode 18: Philip Vandenberghe and Rik Sadet

Episode 19: Frank Hendrickx, Tijs Lammar

Episode 20: Bieke Demeester

And Liliane Vertessen.

For those who understand Flemish/ Dutch (as this is the language used in the podcast), I most highly recommend giving it a listen, even if you are not particularly interested in art; it is indeed an absorbing tale. It will be available on several platforms, just look out for it.

Finally…

April 16, 2022 / / 0 Comments

On 6 December 2021, I successfully completed my viva voce at Loughborough University, in which I discussed and defended my PhD thesis, titled “Contesting Abortion Stigma Through Contemporary Visual Art”. My internal examiner was Professor Craig Richardson, and my external examiner Dr Carrie Purcell (University of Glasgow). They allowed me to pass without any corrections.

I am extremely grateful to my dad and my sisters, as well as to all my friends, who continued to support me throughout this endeavour. Also, my sincerest gratitude to my two wonderful supervisors Dr Kathryn Brown (Senior Lecturer in Art History and Visual Culture at Loughborough University) and Dr Rachael Grew (Lecturer in Art History and Visual Culture at Loughborough University), who masterfully guided my throughout this project. A warm ‘thank you’ also goes out to everyone at LUNA, the umbrella organisation of abortion centres in Dutch-speaking Belgium.

Hence, from now on, I am indeed a doctor, and whoever is interested in reading my actual thesis can do so via this link:
https://doi.org/10.26174/thesis.lboro.18998393.

Conference talk: Contemporary Womxn’s Writing and the Medical Humanities, 31 July 2021, Institute of Modern Languages Research (IMLR), London, UK (online).

August 4, 2021 / / 0 Comments

Recently, I participated in a very diverse and intense three-day long conference about womxn’s writing and health humanities, put together by Rebecca Rosenberg (King’s College London) and Benjamin Dalton (Paris Nanterre University). While my own research obviously deals with abortion and sexual and reproductive rights in contemporary visual art, in this presentation I focused on art that employs language and narratives in conjunction with the visual.

The title was “Countering Abortion Stigma in Contemporary Art:  Activist Storytelling in Word and Image”, and you will find the abstract below.

For more information about the whole event, please visit its website.

Abstract: 

“Pregnancy termination is one of the most common medical procedures, yet abortion stigma persists in many countries. Along with the study of what exactly abortion stigma is, how it is produced, and what effects it generates, researchers and activists are trying to find ways to reduce or even to eradicate it. In this paper, I argue that contemporary visual arts are a critical means of challenging abortion stigma. Through a selection of case studies from the late 1980s to the present, I analyse ways in which contemporary artists have narrated and problematised this stigma in a range of socio-political contexts. My examples include Barbara Kruger’s Untitled (Your Body Is A Battleground), created for the Women’s March on Washington DC in 1989; collages made by Aleksandra Mir in 2005; Tracey Emin’s strategic use of narrative to counter stigma by speaking out about her own abortion in both her autobiography and graphic art; Holly Pester’s 2018 poem Comic Timing, a work that addresses abortion in a like-wise personal, but mundane manner; and the collection of comics titled Comics for Choice (2017) published a group of artists, activists, and writers based in the United States. These works and art projects use innovative combinations of imagery and text to communicate the complexities of abortion and to give voice to different individual experiences. They also function in different spatial contexts and address audiences in unique ways. By showing how artists have tackled the theme of abortion and abortion stigma through a variety of intersecting visual and linguistic narratives, I demonstrate the importance of contemporary arts to public discourses about health care and medical thought.”

Conference talk: Contemporary Issues in Fertility Control, 19 November 2019, Bournemouth University (UK).

June 16, 2020 / / 0 Comments

On 19 November 2019 I gave a presentation at the event Contemporary Issues in Fertility Control, organised by Bournemouth University (UK), entitled: “Countering Abortion Stigma Through Contemporary Visual Art: Responding to Legal Restrictions”.

The event wished to examine the social, ethical, medical, policy and regulatory issues associated with all forms of fertility control.  It also addressed the role of disruptive technology, the shift to ex ante responses to reproductive choice and wider intersectional/ equality concerns surrounding fertility control.  It brought together a range of interdisciplinary perspectives and stakeholders, including policy makers, parent groups, health providers, clinicians and a wide range of academics.  The aim of the day was to identify new issues, future challenges and possible solutions for policy makers.

Other speakers were: Clare Murphy (Bpas), Rianna Raymond-Williams (Shine ALOUD UK), Jeffrey Wale (Bournemouth University), Dr. Samuel Walker (Bournemouth University), Prof. Sam Rowlands (Bournemouth University), and Claire Horn (Birbeck, University of London).

 

Abstract:

Event: (Re-)Imagining the Family – Reading Groups, 7 November and 8 November 2019, Palazzo Mora, Venice (IT).

October 21, 2019 / / 0 Comments

[Re-]Imagining the Family: Forms, Values, Planning and Alternatives.

In response to the Re-imagining Citizenship Activity Book (see details below), which is currently part of a display at the exhibition “Personal Structures – Identities” at Palazzo Mora in Venice, we will organise two reading group sessions. The meetings will create space for a public discussion of issues relating to family, family-related values, and sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Events such as the World Congress of Families conference that took place in Verona in March 2019, and the ongoing battle for access to safe and dignified family planning services in Italy and beyond, draw attention to ongoing questions of how the idea of the family – what it looks like, who gets to have one and when, and what types of family are legitimate – relate to contemporary political struggles. In light of such issues, both reading groups will seek to explore the concept of family today and how family values are being used as political leverage.

Over two days, we will meet at the Palazzo Mora (European Cultural Centre, Palazzo Mora, Strada Nuova #3659, 30121 Venice, Italy) to read, confer and reflect. The texts that will be examined closely together will be made available before the event, but there is no pressure to read anything beforehand. We will both read and discuss together on the day, and copies of the text will be made available. We will explore family ideals, values and gender/sexual politics through the following themes:

– Thursday 7th November, 15.00-18.00 – The role of the traditional family and declining birth rates in contemporary politics
(Facebook event page)
We will read and discuss:
* bell hooks, “Revolutionary Parenting”, Chapter 10 from her “Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center”, Boston, MA: South End Press 1984,  p. 133-146.
Or DOWNLOAD AS PDF
* Jennifer Guerra, “L’ istinto materno non esiste: Non volere figli non è egoista” from The Vision, 17 March 2018.
Or DOWNLOAD AS PDF
* [Anon.], “The Observer View on Immigration Being the Answer to Falling Birth Rates: Observer Editorial”, from The Guardian, 4 August 2019.
Or DOWNLOAD AS PDF

– Friday 8th November, 15.00-18.00 – Abortion as part of family planning: access and societal stigma
(Facebook event page)
We will read and discuss:
* Holly Pester, “Comic Timing”, from Granta #144, 7 November 2018.
Or DOWNLOAD AS PDF
* Kara Fox and Valentina Di Donati, ” Abortion is a Right in Italy. For Many Women, Getting One is Nearly Impossible”, from CNN, May 2019.
Or DOWNLOAD AS PDF

The readings will not be overtly academic and theoretical: we will interrogate items from the news and creative writings, for example. No prior knowledge is required and the texts well be accessible at the events. The writings as well as the discussions will be both in English and Italian. All perspectives and backgrounds are welcome, and we hope to generate a debate that is intergenerational, respectful of difference and informed by the experiences of various cultural contexts. Participants are welcome to attend one or both sessions.

An audio-recording of the event will be made as a documentation for the Re-Imagining Citizenship Living Archive, but just let us know if you do not want to be a part of this.

Re-imagining Citizenship is an ongoing, collaborative project initiated by the Politicized Practice/Anarchism/Theatre Activism research groups based at Loughborough University, UK (https://pparg.net/). We are looking for collective redefinitions of citizenship that are not prescribed or closed down by the language of the media, but rather opened up by artistic methods.

The Re-imagining Citizenship Activity Book/Re-imagining Citizenship Living Archive forms part of this ongoing dialogue around themes related to art and political activism. Since 2014, artists, researchers and associates of the three research groups have organised exhibitions, installations, performances and participatory events to explore the potential for art practices to re-imagine citizenship. These culminated in a series of activities during in March 2019, including the production of the Re-imagining Citizenship Activity Book which has thirty different contributions, inviting readers to respond creatively to sets of instructions (using text, images, video or audio) and to upload them to the Living Archive on http://re-imagining.org/.

The reading groups are initiated and facilitated by Sophia Kier-Byfield (PhD researcher, Loughborough University), Tom Nys (PhD researcher, Loughborough University), and Altea Solari (medical student, University of Bologna).

Event: Feminist Wikipedia Edit-a-thon, 14 March, 21 March and 28 March 2019, Pilkington Library, Loughborough University (UK).

February 27, 2019 / / 0 Comments

 

Together with my friends Sophia Kier-Byfield and Mikaela Assolent, and as a member of the Centre for Doctoral Training: Feminism, Sexual Politics, and Visual Culture at Loughborough University, I am setting up a Feminist Wikipedia Edit-a-thon in the Pilkington Library of the university, located in the idyllic Loughborough in the Eastern British Midlands. The event has three parts: on 14, 21 and 28 March, and is open to anyone (registration is required for 14 and 21 March, 28 March will be a drop-in session). It is designed to improve articles about (local) cis and trans women as well as on non-binary people who are underrepresented on Wikipedia.

The edit-a-thon will include tutorials for the beginner Wikipedian, ongoing editing support and reference materials. Participants will also update Wikipedia entries collaboratively. People of all gender identities and expressions are invited to participate.

In a 2011 survey, the Wikimedia Foundation found that less than 10% of its contributors identify as women. This lack of inclusive participation has led to an alarming gap of content in the world’s most popular online research tool. Some key articles about women are missing, the content about them often demonstrates a sexist bias and gender identities (especially concerning transgender people) are inaccurately stated.

This event is part of the international Art+Feminism campaign to improve content on cis and trans women on Wikipedia, and to encourage women to participate on the online encyclopedia. Since 2014, Art+Feminism edit-a-thons have taken place across the world, creating and improving over 11,000 articles.

Other Art+Feminism events have taken place at institutions such as The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Tate, London; Yale University, New Haven; McGill University, Montreal; Archives Nationales, Paris; and many more.

In preparation of the edit-a-thon that will take place 28 March between 1pm and 5pm, two sessions in smaller groups (10-12 persons) will be organised on 14 March from 6pm to 9pm and on 21 March from 2pm to 4pm. Participants are invited to reflect on their own relationship to the production of knowledge. Researchers and students will question how the tools that are available to them (Pilkington Library’s collection, and online content such as Wikipedia) are biased and how they can inadvertently reproduce bias or on the contrary disrupt it.  

Feminism, Sexual Politics, and Visual Culture CDT
The Centre for Doctoral Training: Feminism, Sexual Politics, and Visual Culture was established in 2018. The main catalyst for it is the deepening and rapidly changing global complexity of the relationship between feminist praxis and culture, particularly in politics, arts, and academia. The recent tsunamis of feminist activism, from sport to science, government to entertainment, are the most public evidence of this new complexity.
The CDT is radically integrative, in many ways:

  • we aim for an inclusive, intersectional definition and practice of feminism;
  • ‘visual culture’ or ‘arts’ to us is inclusive of all practices where visuality is significant, including performative and written modes;
  • we have a trans-disciplinary staff team, with expertise including Fine Art, Graphics, English Literature, Drama, Art History, Art Criticism, Politics, and Sociology;
  • the research that is undertaken will have immediate implications for areas such as social policy, pedagogies, and cultural industries as well as feminist thinking and the arts.

Facebook event page: here.

“The Realm”, 25 May – 17 August, Observatorium/ Meatpack Antwerp (BE): installation views.

June 19, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Here are a few installation views of the exhibition “The Realm”, with Karolien Chromiak, Alexandra Crouwers, Aurore Dal Mas, Hadassah Emmerich, Kai Franz, Pieterjan Ginckels, Branca Lina Urta and Marleen Sleeuwits, which I curated for Observatorium/ Meatpack in Antwerp. The show will run until 17 August so it is still possible to pay a visit. All photos courtesy of Lotte Veuchelen except the one of Karolien Chromiak’s work, which is courtesy of Karolien Chromiak.
Read more about the exhibition and its concept here.

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