We notice a remarkable impulse concerning research at various Flemish art schools, where artists investigate the ambiguous relationship between documentary and imagination. These artists base their research on historical sources, oral testimonies and archival material. Yet the result is not documentary art in the strict sense of the word.
This project collects a series of contributions from or about artists who explore the boundary between documentary and fiction in their research. These artists translate their documentary sources into an artistic universe and deliberately obscure the boundaries between what we regard as 'fiction' and 'reality'.
The goal of the project is twofold. It aims to map out, explain and develop the documentary approach as a method for research in the arts. At the same time, it wants to make the visibility of research at the Flemish art schools accessible to an international readership through an English-language publication at an internationally renowned publisher. Central to the book project is the question of the relationship between source and fiction. A sample card of documentary approaches to research in the arts will be developed.