When Fact Is Fiction

• Observations about concepts such as truth, reality, fiction and post-truth within documentary art, to deepen discussions about truth and facts within contemporary media and politics
• A collection of contributions by and about artists about the role and construction of truth and fiction in their work.

What is the value of fiction at a time when fake news, alternative facts, and infotainment undermine the integrity of politics and media? This question is the common thread of When Fact Is Fiction. It brings together contributions by and about artists who probe the boundaries between fact and fiction. The ambiguous relationship between the documentary and the imaginary has been investigated and questioned within the arts for decades. The artists discussed in this volume deliberately blur the boundaries between what is generally known as ‘fiction’ and as ‘reality’. They share a fascination with the same problem: the impossible challenge of representing reality. Their artistic re-interpretation of oral and archival sources often has an explicit critical potential to rewrite history, rethink our present time or imagine possible futures.

Illustrated with various black and white photographs.

Contributors: Pascal Gielen, Andrea Gorki, Charlotte Lybeer, Sigrid Merx, Patrícia Portela, Jonas Rutgeerts, Nienke Scholts, Katharina Smets, Elly Van Eeghem, Peter Van Goethem, Stefan Vanthuyne, Ludovik Vermeersch, Nele Wynants