Frans van Lent

La Biennale de Momon- about the solidity and continuity of the physical world as opposed to the human temporary presence. July - November, 2020. 

The initiative:

La Biennale de Momon project was set up by Frans van Lent,  a Dutch artist, based in Dordrecht, the Netherlands. His recent projects include the Unnoticed Art Festival, the ConceptBank and the ParallelShow. There is no clear distinction between his practice as a performance artist and his curatorial projects. He often invites other artists to participate on an equal basis. Frans van Lent studied at MaHKU, Utrecht (MA Fine Arts). He tutors at the Willem de Kooning Academy, Rotterdam (since 2000).

 

The project:

Maumont is a small village in the Perigord in France. It consists of 15 houses, around 30 inhabitants and there is no church, shop, café or other public facility. Only a few original residents are still living in the village; many died over the years, others left to live elsewhere. Today most inhabitants are newcomers and pensioners, often from other countries. 

Twenty years ago you could still smell the farms everywhere. Herds of cows and sheep were led through the village every day. The village has changed, from a place where all was related to soil, growth and the seasons, to a place where the inhabitants mainly stroll, relax and dream.

Momon is the old name of the village, no longer in use since the name Maumont was introduced. Momon stands for the village as it exists in the mind. It is no longer physically linked to the location, it is linked to memories and coloured by nostalgia. 

La Biennale de Momon starts from the village, but it will only be that starting point. Nothing will be changed but, on the contrary, it will remain the way it is. 

The artists:

Eight artists are working in this project: Sarah Boulton (GB), Marc Buchy (FR/BE), Joan Heemskerk (NL), Susana Mendes Silva (PT), Josh Schwebel (CA/DE), Lisa Skuret (US/GB), Elia Torrecilla (ES) and Frans van Lent (NL). They all have a certain preference for creating work without a material body, without physical traces. Their ultimate works might consist of texts, scores, images or sounds, everything that can live online without actually touching the physical ground.

During one week in the first half of this year, every artist will individually stay in a small house in the village. She/he will use this time to get familiair with the village, with its surroundings, its inhabitants. And they will of course prepare and create.

LaBiennaleDeMomon.org:

Finally La Biennale de Momon can only be experienced online. The will be no physical traces left in the village to find. The project will officially be presented at LaBiennaleDeMomon.org  on July 15, 2020.You can of course always choose to visit the location, but do not expect to see something different than what it always was: just a small village in the Perigord.

 

And finally:

In November 2020 we will organise a public conference in the Dordrechts Museum in Dordrecht, the Netherlands. 

In this conference all artists will talk about the meaning of this project and about their works. 

There will also be other speakers with a professional relation to the subject: actors, journalists, scientists. 

 

Financing the project:

We are very happy that the city of Dordrecht, the Netherlands, funded part of this project. It ensures us of the means to realise many aspects as intended.

One of the things that is still missing is a fee for the artists. The project is very much dependent of their efforts and I would really want to value this by offering them a fair fee. To realize that we set up the crowdfunding. 

The book mentioned in the interview is Underland of Robert Macfarlane.

Bull (Limousin)

View from the village of Maumont