The King is my Neighbour

Through suggestive pairings and associative imagery, they construct a closed-off world full of references and symbols – symbols that refer to ancient, large civilizations that the current government uses to preserve its past and implicitly claim its existing power.

In The King is my Neighbour, Eri Vanluchene & Mirre Nimmegeers build a visual labyrinth for the viewer to get lost within. Through suggestive pairings and associative imagery, they construct a closed-off world full of references and symbols – symbols that refer to ancient, large civilizations that the current government uses to preserve its past and implicitly claim its existing power. This series shows documentation of their search into the concept of power – but their answers remain inadequate – rather they show the conflictual and psychological relation one can experience in trying to reach the concept.

The King is my Neighbour is the only text that accompanies the duo’s mosaic of staged and cropped fragments: the viewer is kindly (or maybe not so kindly) requested to fill in the blanks and weave possible princesses, castles, moat, banners from faces, towers, railing, towels. The conceit works nicely – though no one is fooled – because each of the pictures holds its own as strong, compelling, perfectly composed images with a playful twist.

Lucy Conticello. Fotofilmic JRNL #1