Hi,

Flanders Arts Institute has published its five-yearly Landscape Sketch of the Arts, a strengths-and-weaknesses analysis of the Flemish arts sector. The document outlines current developments to support cultural policy and help the professional field shape a future strategy.

https://www.kunsten.be/en/research/art-policy-and-art-decree/landschapstekening-2025-een-analyse-van-het-vlaamse-kunstenlandschap/

In preparation, the institute organised several workshops with art professionals. I took part in the session on key moments in artistic careers. As we know, artistic paths are rarely linear. In a small group we explored the pivotal moments in our trajectories: their causes, consequences, and how we experienced them.

I labelled my three key moments: breakthrough, breakdown and withdrawal/relapse.

After graduating, I took part in several group exhibitions, but it was during a volunteering stint in the Icelandic highlands that I began to find my voice. A pivotal work from that time, Iceland, consisted of notebook pages rubbed against various locations where I worked that summer.

In 2009, my work was selected for exhibitions curated by Jan Fabre, Koen Van den Broek and Guy Van Bossche, on the initiative of Flor Bex. The following year, Geert Mullens (a.k.a. Quinten Torp) organised Slag, my first solo exhibition. Grants, residencies and further opportunities followed.

The direction of my practice was taking shape, and I continued with walking-based projects and residencies. I was working on Defrag when, in 2015, I decided to stop.

Back then, 35 was often the upper age limit for open calls, and Berlin was seen as the place to be. After completing a residency there and reaching that milestone, I realised things remained precarious—both financially and socially. I stepped away. But without a plan B, things became a bit murky.

Perhaps 35 had become an unspoken finish line. In its aftermath, I wrestled with identity loss and the weight of unmet expectations. I tried to broaden my sense of self and sought support, but the ‘withdrawal symptoms’ lingered: I kept drawing, walking and writing, though I struggled to call any of it merely therapeutic.

Sometimes I wonder: is this withdrawal, or relapse?

Thanks for reading,

crrmnsrg