Erik van Lieshout challenges the existing order and sense of tradition by expressing his own opinions and biting critiques about sociopolitical issues with humorous and often off-beat ideas. The artist takes a firm stand and ruthlessly exposes the indolence and duplicity of contemporary society which hides behind a well-mannered disposition.
In Sex is Sentimental, van Lieshout recklessly exposes himself without reserve, depicting the artist’s concerns arising from falling in love with his assistant, Suzanne. The work depicts the artist’s conflicted state of mind in which the boundaries between art and love and between art and life have become ambiguous. Various techniques of expression, including screencomposing texts and photographic collages, fast-paced stop-motion animation and his lover’s fabricated photographs, underscore the artist’s emotions and psychological state. For his lover, who has become deeply involved with his art-related career and the situations arising from that relationship, the artist feels anxious, while at the same time he harbors his own hopes and dreams for the future, both in love and art.
