On Saturday 13 December, the doctoral research project “The medium is memory, the carrier is the souvenir” will be presented. This was carried out by Nicolas Baeyens between 2020 and 2024 at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, within the ArchiVolt research group and the University of Antwerp.

One of the central elements of this research was Baeyens' four-day performance at Coppejans Gallery on Falconplein during the Antwerp Art Weekend of 2024. At the request of the public, he dragged pieces from his metal sculptures that people could take home with them.

PhD defence Nicolas Baeyens
The medium is memory, the carrier is the souvenir

date: Saturday 13 September, 14:30

promotors: Thomas Crombez (Academy) and Peter De Deyn (UAntwerp)

jury: Kristien Hens, Thomas Crombez, Peter De Deyn, Vaast Colson, Patrick Ceyssens, Susan Stewart and Alexandra Phillips

program:
14:30 – 15:00 Opportunity to view the installed work
15:00 – 17:00 Public promotion
17:00 Book presentation, reception

location:
Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Antwerp
Mutsaardstraat 31
2000 Antwerp
Mekano, Campus Mutsaard, 1st floor

About the research:

What happens when an artwork detaches from its material form and begins a life of its own in the mind of the viewer? This dissertation originates from an artistic practice of sharing and transforming sculptural fragments and evolves into a transdisciplinary exploration of art as shared thinking, as social action, and as a mediating object.

Making and viewing art is not a one-way street. The viewer does not merely look; they think, co-shape, and influence the artist. This reciprocal movement turns every artwork into a carrier of meanings that continuously shift with context, memory, and interaction. Looking at art is a creative act: it does not end with perception but persists in the imagination of the beholder.

As Beuys, Ono, Benjamin, and Latour each in their own way emphasize, the value of art does not lie in material fixation but in its capacity to set thoughts in motion, shaped by ever-changing contexts. Neuroscientific research supports this: art activates brain regions linked to empathy, planning, and reward, and fosters cognitive flexibility. These effects resonate beyond the artistic domain, influencing how we think, perceive, and coexist.

Art also transforms social relations. Participation is not a peripheral condition but a foundation: every artwork is part of a historical and societal network in which meanings circulate. The image fragment, the souvenir, becomes a catalyst that triggers memories and generates new interpretations.

This dissertation, like the artwork itself, seeks no finality. It is a meandering trigger. Art touches upon a broader urgency: it creates space for collective critique, ethical remembrance, and cognitive growth.