The self-reflecting encyclopedia, 2022
Silkscreen on light-reflective fabric, mounted on dibond, framed, 40cm x 50cm
When we give something a name, we also wish to give it the right to exist. Denomination or nomenclature unsurprisingly lies at the basis of Western knowledge systems. Today, however, mainstream science still relies on old imperialist categories to grasp the world. All forms of considerably objective knowledge are systematically divided into groups, lists, and tables out of an unfathomable fear of ambiguity. In a 1994 lecture, philosopher of language Jacques Derrida explained the word ‘archive’ by way of the two meanings of its etymological root: the Ancient Greek word arkhè. On the one hand, this term refers to the beginning of all knowledge. On the other hand, it also bears the meaning of authority, or the control over knowledge as a means of power. Knowledge that is painful or unclear and threatens existing power structures is often condemned into a twilight zone of visible invisibility; to a life without a name. (…) Van Marcke creates works on reflective textiles with references to the scientific canon of the West. It is a confrontation with the limitations of our gaze, and an appeal to step outside the boundaries of familiar frameworks (Zeynep Kubat)
