The Archive of Possibilities is part of my PhD research project - An Act of Deviation: When Objects Carry Memories. Research on Deviation as an Artistic Strategy to Reflect on the Relationship Between Jewellery, Identity and Memory. - at the UHasselt, Faculty of Architecture and Arts and PXL-MAD School of Arts in Hasselt, Belgium, funded by the Special Research Fund (BOF) of Hasselt University.
Within this research my question is whether deviation can be used as a methodology to alienate material objects and if (and how) this methodology can function as an artistic strategy to reflect on the relationship between jewellery, identity and memory.

The Archive of Possibilities is the beginning of the practical part of this project, the visualisation of the creative process, the generation of ideas and the reflection of theoretical knowledge. Furthermore, it forms the vocabulary of the project.
For the archive a plain ring is (re)produced several times, using a wide variety of materials and techniques. However, the (re)productions are characterised by intended deviations, resulting from the (re)production process itself, subsequent interventions or artificial creations. This creates a series of objects from which each copy is characterised by a partial loss, partial change or partial expansion of information. Information in this context does not just describe the physical, but also the material iconological information of the object.

The Archive of Possibilities is a way of learning how shapes and materials react and how this does not only change the formal appearance of the object, but also the meaning of the piece.

In February 2023, a printed publication depicting and explaining the most interesting objects currently in the archive was published in a small edition. At the bottom of this page you can also download a PDF file of the book.