Inflame

Info

Images of a woman posing in red light. Titles garishly reminiscent of erotic video clips: “Golden Girl … Shake It … Shocked! Speed … Inflame … Sure.” Signals hit home above and below the belt: seduction, eroticism, provocation, ecstasy, exposure, object, victim. (…) Liliane Vertessen is provocative because she presents intimate images from private life. In exposing herself she acquires the power to challenge feelings not normally questioned in art. Her self-portrayals, taking their inspiration from the world of private eroticism (and from the strategies of commercialized eroticism), concentrate on the dramatic moment of pose, expression and visual contact. (Suzanne Titz, January 1992). Ref.1

Liliane Vertessen (1952) Since the 1970s, Liliane Vertessen has been making a name for herself with her staged self-portraits, in which she slips into the skin of various fictional characters. Usually scantily clad and striking provocative poses, she plays a variety of female types (vamp, Lolita, diva, dominatrix, etc.), as portrayed in the world of film and advertising. Her photographs do not convey victimhood, but rather empowerment and self-awareness. Vertessen combines her photographs with bright neon lights, mirrors and sensual accessories such as glitter, plush, sequins and feathers. In doing so, she evokes the phantasmagoria of strip clubs and brothels, where her gaze meets that of the viewer in an endless vortex of seduction and desire, exhibitionism and voyeurism. Vertessen sometimes uses her photographs in larger, spatial installations. Ref.2

Imschoot Uitgevers In 1987 publishing house Imschoot (Ghent- Belgium) started an exceptional series of artists’ books made by international artists (Giovanni Anselmo, Sol LeWitt, John Baldessari, Lawrence Weiner, Hanne Darboven, Robert Barry, Christian Boltanski, Dan Graham, a.o.). Ref.3
In addition to the regular softcover edition (500 to 1000 copies), a deluxe hardcover edition was also issued in a very limited edition, numbered and signed by the artists.
The publishing house ceased its activities in 2006.

References

• Ref.2: smak.be
• Ref.3 Johan Pas (Een essay door -), Het kunstenaarsboek in België: de voorzet tot een geschiedenis, Kunstenpunt
• Ref.1: Imschoot, uitgevers Catalogue 1993-1994, Books packaged and/or distributed on demand