Abstract:
In one of his essays on art, Dutch author and essayist Joost Zwagerman (1963–2015) reflects on
the work of (Dutch) South African artist Marlene Dumas (1953). Zwagerman addresses in
particular Dumas’ My Mother Before She Became My Mother (2010), painted 3 years after her
mother died. In his reflections, Zwagerman proposes an interpretation of Dumas’ work. He
suggests that Dumas, in her art, does not accept the omnipotence of death. Maybe against
better judgement, but Dumas keeps creating images that not only illustrate the desire for
meaning but also embody this desire. The image and the desire for meaning merge in Dumas’
paintings. The painting itself becomes an autonomous ‘desire machine’, according to
Zwagerman. In this article, a (practical) theological reading of Zwagerman’s own posthumously
published volume of poetry, ‘Wakend over God’ (2016), is presented, with a specific interest in
art, death and God. The sacramental hermeneutics of Richard Kearney and the theopoetics of
John Caputo are brought into the conversation to elicit the dimensions of faith and religion in
Zwagerman’s own ‘desire machine’.
Description:
Dr Rein Brouwer is
participating in the research
project, ‘Congregational
Studies’ directed by Prof.
Malan Nel, Department
Practical Theology, Faculty of
Theology, University of
Pretoria.
