Mirelle van Tulder

Catalogue of Stolen Objects, Courtesy of 

Launch: LA Art Book Fair, May 15, 2025

“In van Tulder’s work, by refusing the object, she objects to the gaze, and the categorisation and reductionism practices implied in its cataloguing. The empty spaces hint at a possible alternative, a negation of colonial attitudes of epistemological, institutionalised authority. Presenting the non-material instead, the artist both refuses and highlights the fetishistic container in which these images came into being. This gesture forces the viewer to confront their position—do we search for the missing object, or recognise the violence depicted in its absence? The work thus unfolds as an investigation into the act of looking at these photographed artefacts, in their found condition, dissected as they are from any context. The act of removal highlights the missing condition of these artefacts, and reminds us how this legacy is constructed from exclusion. The final work, an empty catalogue, calls for a dismantling of systems of representation that are aligned with colonial attitudes. 'Catalogue of Stolen Objects, Courtesy of’' makes visible the invisible (and buried) practices of erasure, displacement and subjugation that inform our worldview.” 

Excerpt from “Excizing the Gaze, Reframing Absence”, by Mariana Lobão

64 p.; 129 b/w illustrations, text: English. Amsterdam, 2025