Edith Dekyndt: Source Book 8

Edith Dekyndt is an artist who draws inspiration from natural phenomena and, what may be called, 'the psychology of machines'. Presented as minimal, highly precise installations, her works tread a fine line between the down-to-earth and the other-worldly, activating the cognitive boundaries of those who come in their midst. Since 2004, her practice has been developed under the umbrella of what she terms Universal Research of Subjectivity. Her solo exhibition, Agnosia, was presented at Witte de With in the spring of 2009. Witte de With's 8th Source Book – which generously documents the works in the exhibition – also offers access to Edith Dekyndt's personal inspirations in literature, film and music. Taking up the ~source' in 'Source Book,' Dekyndt prepared her own texts and lists of favourites, as well as a recommendation: Norman Mailer's Of a Fire on the Moon (1971). A significant excerpt of this account of the Apollo 11 mission (from a chapter entitled The Psychology of Machines) is thus reproduced and offers a precise poetic key for the artist's blend of scientific enquiry and subjective reverie. Her selections are further illuminated in an interview with Amira Gad (assistant curator at Witte de With).