Salt in the Wound takes you on a journey through Europe, to meet with contemporary artists such as Mirowslaw Balka, Michael Borremans, Bridget Riley and Sejla Kameric.
In a collection of essays, the author wonders how the work of these artists relates to the place where they work and live, and where they grew up. To what extend does the cultural background inform the imagination of these artists? While some artists reject such a connection, or want to leave it behind, others stress the importance of their environment and made it the focus of their work. For Salt in the Wound the author did not just visit artists in the so called art centers of Europe, but looked in regions that are considered periphery, such as Estonia, Latvia, Greece or Romania.
‘On the night of 9 November 1989, when the Berlin Wall fell, private Norbert Bisky was fast asleep in his bed. He was doing his obligatory military service and was based in the countryside of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, north of Berlin. The next day his commander told him the news, but he could hardly believe it. Go tell someone else, for what could happen in a camp where nothing ever happened? Life in the GDR continued as usual, with private Bisky having to do his daily duties. After a few months, when the fall of the Wall was still denied in the provinces, he refused to stay any longer and illegally left for Berlin…’ (from the chapter Painting the GDR from his soul. Norbert Bisky).
Salt in the Wound was first published in Dutch at Van Oorschot (Zout in de wond); the English translation appeared at Garret Publications. The book can be ordered here.