A major figure in contemporary art, Jan Fabre was sentenced on April 29 by the Antwerp criminal court, in particular for an unconsented kiss with the tongue to a former dancer from his troupe.
The Belgian city of Namur, which hosts a monumental sculpture by the artist Jan Fabre, has decided to alert the public to the “serious acts he has committed” by placing a black banner there, noted an AFP photographer.
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A major figure in contemporary art, both visual artist and choreographer, Jan Fabre was overtaken by the MeToo wave and sentenced on April 29 by the Antwerp Criminal Court to an 18-month suspended prison sentence, in particular for a kiss with the language not consented to a former dancer of his troupe. The gesture was described as “indecent assault”.
The charges of six of the twelve alleged victims were dismissed by the court. But the artist, who refuted the complaints en bloc, was also found guilty of violence or humiliation against five dancers. He has not yet announced whether he will appeal or not.
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In Namur, the municipality, which since 2015 has hosted Jan Fabre’s giant tortoise on the heights of its citadel Searching for Utopiaannounced on May 3 “additional measures” on the work to take this conviction into account. “The maintenance of the work has been confirmed but will be accompanied by several accompanying measures intended to illustrate the City’s disapproval of Mr. Fabre and the serious acts he has committed and for which he has been convicted. by justice”, she explained in a press release.
Next to this six-ton bronze turtle, ridden by a figure representing the artist himself, “an informative panel (…) recalling his condemnation and his reasons” will soon be installed. But the most remarkable measure, implemented on Thursday, May 5, six days after the conviction, consisted in covering the eyes of the character with a black blindfold. The piece of fabric will stay in place on this miniature Jan Fabre “for 18 months, the length of his suspended sentence”, the city said. In addition, the sculpture’s night lighting is suspended so that it “is no longer highlighted at night for 18 months as well”.
The Walloon city said it was inspired by a similar initiative by the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels, where a set of five monumental panels by Jan Fabre – a ballpoint pen work on the theme of the gaze – is now deprived of spotlights.
“To withdraw the work would have meant to withdraw the debate which accompanies it, to leave it is to participate in the debate”, told AFP Michel Draguet, director of the institution. He pointed out that a panel of “contextualization” had also been installed to explain this absence of light due to the condemnation of the artist.
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