Loin 10 2016

Editor: Katrien De Blauwer's "Loin 10," created in 2016, is a mixed-media collage that incorporates photography. It gives me a feeling of nostalgia and fragmented memory, like flipping through an old photo album. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Ah, nostalgia...a potent trigger. For me, it's about intimacy hinted at, but never fully revealed. The juxtaposition of the abstract, almost lunar sphere above with the intimate gesture of hands handling flowers… it's a visual poem. De Blauwer is a master of suggestion. I wonder, what does that upper field evoke for you, beyond the immediate lunar association? Editor: I see it as maybe a dreamscape, or a blank space for the viewer to project their own emotions onto. But what about the hands with the flowers? Is there a specific meaning? Curator: Possibly. Or it could simply be about the fleeting nature of beauty, the poignancy of capturing a transient moment. But De Blauwer's work often hints at deeper, psychological narratives. The fact that we only see hands, devoid of a face or complete body… it leaves us longing for a fuller picture, doesn't it? She's withholding something, and in that withholding, creates a delicious tension. Editor: It really does! The ambiguity is what makes it so captivating. I never would have thought about the tension created by what's *not* shown. Curator: Exactly! The power of suggestion is stronger than any explicit statement. And isn't that true in life, as well as in art? It’s not about providing answers, but about provoking questions and prompting self-reflection. And hopefully we have achieved this, at least to some degree, through this discussion. Editor: Yes! I think so. This was helpful in highlighting that withholding in art, and life, isn't always bad! Thanks.