Image by: Studio Purple Paw

This event starts at 16:30 with the launch, reading and activation of Username: Apophany by Florence Cheval in collaboration with Studio Purple Paw and Jean Katambayi Mukendi followed by drinks and a music set by Pauline Hafsia M'Barek from 17:30 to 20:00.

Username: Apophany is a report of 'Uncertainty Scenarios #11 – Statistics', which occurred on June 26 2021 at Enough Room for Space (ErforS). It is an attempt to activate the stunning lines and curves of Jean Katambayi Mukendi's drawing, Afrolampe (Life Expectancy), 2021, along with an essay by the same artist (Life Expectancy).

This text traces the ebbs and waves, zeros and ones, of Apophany – also named Apophenia, a queero who became goddex of the underworlds. Username: Apophany, the text, is meant to be read, sung, danced, put in movement.

Apophany, or apophenia, is the human tendency to perceive patterns and meaningful connections between unrelated things or in random information. Apophenia can be approached as a symptom of psychiatric dysfunction, as one of the beginning stages of schizophrenia. In statistics, apophenia is an example of a type I error – the false identification of patterns in data. Apophenia is also typical of conspiracy theories.

Not only is Apophenia beautifully surrounded by the stunning works of Jean Katambayi Mukendi, it is also accompanied by an astonishing speculative fiction: The Princess Steel (1905) by W.E.B. Du Bois - a critique of capitalism, trust building, and the exploitation of African Americans and Africans written by this prominent African American sociologist, socialist, historian, civil rights activist, Pan-Africanist author, writer and editor. Together with Enough Room for Space, we initiated a collective, open source, translation of The Princess Steel into French.

Username: Apophany was envisioned by Florence Cheval in close collaboration with Studio Purple Paw. 

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Bio's:

Florence Cheval:
"I practice writing-with, curating-with, researching-with. I am studying with poet Ariana Reines in the context of the Invisible College. With Loraine Furter, I’ve been developing Intersections of Care, a collective research on intersectional feminist modes of publication, display and curating. Together with curator, researcher and sociologist Greg Nijs, I failed at setting up drama. On IG, I am @practicesoftrying."

Jean Katambayi:
Trained as an electrician, Jean’s entire artistic practice is imbued with his fascination for mathematics, engineering, geometry, and technology. His works are part of a search for solutions to social problems in current Congolese society, as well as to the country’s depletion of its enormous energetic resources.

Studio Purple Paw:
Studio Purple Paw is a graphic design team made up of two graphic designers, activists and visual artists: Julie and Léa. Based in Brussels, where we met, our collaboration grows on our synergies and because of our strong bond to Brussels' cultural and associative scenes. We create communication both in print and digital. We prioritize working with activists, with collaborative and cultural structures. Our practice is deeply daring, peculiar and inclusive.