In October 2025 I started a residency at Komplot in the framework of the celebration for their 25th anniversary.
Komplot has taken on multiple forms. It has been a curatorial collective, a site for artistic encounters, and an institutional partner working across different scales in Brussels. At times it has embedded itself within existing structures; at others it has worked through open collaboration. Across these shifts, it has maintained a methodology that resists institutional sanctity, approaching formats and contexts with a deliberate irreverence. It has functioned as a residency space, an exhibition venue, and a nomadic collective. My research and resulting publication attempt to trace these transformations while identifying what remains consistent throughout its evolution.
To approach this complexity, I developed the image of an ecosystem as an analytical and narrative tool. I organized projects, exhibitions, and archival materials into three overlapping ecosystems: the swamp, the city, and the forest. These categories are not fixed, but allow for a reading of Komplot’s activities as relational, adaptive, and situated.
A workshop entitled 𝘼 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙢, 𝙘𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙞𝙧𝙨: 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙆𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙩’𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙫𝙚 was held at the midpoint of the residency to explore Komplot’s archive, digging, selecting, writing, drawing, and reshaping timelines.
During the workshop, we delved into the archive and unearthed a series of precious relics. We then organised them in arbitrary and speculative ecosystems, placing them in swamps, cities, or forests. We then traced a palimpsest of stories in a shared mural, and ended with an email storm from the future.
The final output was a zine that included reflections, projections into the future, and speculations about Komplot and its archive.
Doumentation and support courtesy of Komplot's team: Thibaud Leplat, Camille Van Meenen, Pauline Salinas Segura, and PC Malet
Publication Design — Ju Canon
Publication Printing — Milan Gillard