For we would be nothing without

FOR WE WOULD BE NOTHING WITHOUT Towards a New Understanding of the Fetish Object

We are interested in objects that cause a disturbance in the configuration of relations - objects that disrupt the presumed relationship between object and subject, and question feelings of control in regard to the seemingly inanimate objects that surround us. We believe that there is an excess inherent to these objects, and that they provoke a disturbance as they resist explanation with reference to their empirical qualities. Thinking about these concepts of excess and disturbance, a particular phenomenon comes to mind: that of the fetish object. The concept of the fetish first emerged in the context of colonialism. Fetishism was European imperialists' projection of meaning onto foreign objects they were unable to make sense of. These objects were chosen at random, without any particular visible common trait. The concept of fetish thus emerges in the moment of encounter between two different realities, as an instance of mystification and appropriation that provokes the attachment of magical potency to an object... Flat Fetish - Baha Görkem Yalim, Brenda Guesnet, Florian Jomain, Sofia Dupon as a part of the Publication About It, Honours Programme Art and Research, Gerrit Rietveld Academie/University of Amsterdam. 2014.

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