In April 2019, Sophie Nys presented the solo exhibition Family Nexus at KIOSK. In psychology, a family nexus stands for a vision that is shared by the majority of family members, often unconsciously and for several generations long, and is upheld in the context of events both within the family and in its relationship to the world. Among other, the monumental, stretched out net in the dome space was a symbol of this family dynamic. 

Two years later, the theme is still working its way through the above mentioned heads. The shared interest of Nys, Gourdon, Aerts and Peacock leads to a collaboration in the form of a book that, just like the exhibition, can be read as a net of (un)coherent intrigues and knots in which no position can be neutral. They set up a network of characters. Together they represent all kinds of (human) connections. Family Nexus is a story about everyone and no one in particular. Who in this book is playing the role of the Nobody, the household’s so-called 'identified patient', or scapegoat, and which pots and pans has slipped through this character’s fingers?

Saturday June 12th, from 2 to 10pm, the book presents itself surrounded by works that are part of Family Nexus and the flapping sound of local lapwings. 

By the end of the day, the book will be backed-up by some spoken words by the four contributors: 

At 6pm, Liene looks at family life from a lapwing’s perspective, followed by birder Jef Leestmans' view of this so-called stunt flyer of the farmlands of De Kempen and the Scottish Cairngorms. 

At 7pm, Sophie will lead those present through the Family Nexus exhibition that took place two years earlier at KIOSK with the book as her guide. 

At 8pm, Leila presents a personal portrait of Scottish psychiatrist R. D. Laing, coiner of the term ‘family nexus’ and author of The Divided Self and Knots, among others.

And at 9pm, Maud reads a personal transcript of the lecture Transpersonal Psychology given by Portuguese psychologist Leo Matos in 1982 in Stockholm.

Welcome! No reservations, you can come and go as you please. 

However, please note that the bookshop has limited capacity.

Each presentation will last a maximum of 30 minutes.  

With and by Liene Aerts, Maud Gourdon, Sophie Nys, Leila Peacock.

(Cover image: Family Nexus, Sophie Nys ©Tom-Callemin)