Author Description

Under the name Every Conversation Hides Another Conversation, Nico Dockx accurately reported on his research into, in and with the archive of art critic, artist and organizer Louwrien Wijers (1941). In The New Conversations, Dockx investigates, in a constant dialogue with Wijers, how he as an artist can elicit meaning from this rich archive. This, among other things, is done by organizing events in Antwerp, Berlin, Amsterdam, New York and Hallum, where artists, theorists and art students enter into dialogue about certain notions that crystallized from the archive, such as the 'archive' and the 'economy'. Conversations, performances, the preparation and consumption of meals and informal contacts always went hand in hand in the process. As a result, the material from Wijers' archive was activated and given the opportunity to lead a new life. As with the previous conversations, this defense, described as 'PhD performance', was accompanied by presentations, conversations, performances and informal contacts at the dinner table. All this took place in the iconostasis (Le Gambit) by Yona Friedman.