Monomania: Fiona Tan as curator

It was not until the Enlightenment that scientific research began into mental illnesses, which were previously referred to as »madness«. In the course of the 19th century in particular, research deepened and psychiatry developed into a recognized science. Monomaniacs also interested artists such as Théodore Géricault (1791-1824) with his series Les Monomanes (Portraits of the Insane), in which he depicted a kleptomaniac and a gambling addict, among others. Only five of the ten portraits are still known today. Géricault's painting of the kleptomaniac marks the beginning of an exhibition at the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, which focuses on 19th century psychiatry and self-images. This is the first time that a major exhibition at the museum has been curated by a female artist: Fiona Tan had a free hand in the realization of the show. Around 250 exhibits – paintings by Francisco de Goya and Edvard Munch, for example, decorative art and everyday objects – reveal the artist's extraordinary approach. The show concludes with Tan's latest work Janine's Room (2025), a video installation inspired by looking through the collection of the Rijksmuseum. Fiona Tan: Monomania runs from July 04 to September 14.

Fiona Tan (*1966), who has lived in Amsterdam since 1998, is an Indonesian photographer, filmmaker and video artist. She mixes documentary and fiction in her work and also partly uses her own biography and her family's photo albums. Memory and identity are the defining themes of Tan's work. Her works can be found in the collections of the Tate Modern in London, the Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, among others. In 2009, Tan represented the Netherlands at the 53rd Venice Biennale with Disorient about the important geopolitical role of the city in the Middle Ages and the early modern period.