For the public program of the exhibition Near Focus #2, Vleeshal invited Dutch writer Maartje Wortel to engage in a dialogue about the fascinating relationship between the work of artist Lili Dujourie and writers Virginia Woolf and Clarice Lispector.

The use of language as sculptural matter is a recurring theme in the work of Lili Dujourie. This is evidenced by her sculpture Amerikaans Imperialisme (American Imperialism, 1972), a key work that was on view at Vleeshal as part of the exhibition series Near Focus. When Vleeshal asked Dujourie which literary works were important for her practice as artist, her answer was simple: everything by Virginia Woolf!

During this public program, writer Maartje Wortel explored, together with the public, the parallels that can be drawn between the visual practice of Dujourie and the literary practices of Woolf and Lispector. Separated in time and space, the three women share a desire to go beyond the limits of genres, whether it is fiction, the essay, painting or sculpture. At the intersection of these different domains, each of them ventured into their own search for the limits of narrativity in language and image.