-, b. unknown

Anouk Lamm Anouk is ar=s=c prac=ce spans pain=ng, drawing, sculpture, installa=on, and wri=ng. Their manifesto claims: “No Age, No Gender, No Origin”, or as they say: “I am no one I am nothing” which could be a reference to their embedment in Zen Buddhism. Anouk iden=fies as trans-non-binary and by virtue of this and living as a Person with au=sm, it is crucial to them to rid themselves of the external a`ribu=ons and labels that come from norma=ve society in order both to see and encounter others without the violence of classifica=on and an=cipa=on, to be truly open. The star=ng point of their pain=ngs is the raw linen, the canvases itself is crucial. The unprimed frontside of the linen is a living part of their works and becomes a connec=ng visual element across several series. Their colour pale`e is strictly limited, most oDen to earthy colours, hues of black and off-white are also present; reduc=on is key. Anouk works both in series and independently of series – some pain=ngs are solely abstract, while others are predominantly figura=ve – all of which is connected by unique handwri=ng and gestural strokes. Text or text fragments are also part of their prac=ces. The texts are inten=onally unobtrusive, some=mes they require viewers to look for them. These give a hint or raise ques=ons. In their work, Anouk returns to certain mo=fs, beings, and rhythms, which they unite together into a singular, holis=c cosmos, with the aim of conjuring peaceful spaces for contempla=on with a strong undercurrent of desire. This can be seen in their mostly figura=ve representa=ons in the “Lesbian Jazz” series, which features abstract symbols and mo=fs embedded next to naked bodies. The bodies on the canvas are oDen female or non-binary, some=mes sexless, and always anonymous. Faces or facial expressions are rare and usually leD out, because “Lesbian Jazz” portrays above all iden=ty, a lifestyle, a community, and not individualised portraits. Their ar=s=c prac=ce emerges from the urgent need for queer visibility in a world rife with discrimina=on, and their pain=ngs explore the visual languages of fluid iden=ty and body as they are coded and re-coded within society.