I fool you not, my friend. And I shall describe a part of what I have seen'

Warre Mulder (°1984) studied painting in Antwerp and now lives in a polder village in Zeeland. In his studio, colourful ceramic pieces sit alongside printed texts, blocks of plasticine, pots of paint, and dozens of instruments. Mulder tinkers, explores, reflects. Sometimes his works emerge from a chance juxtaposition of materials; just as often, they are nourished by the sculptor’s wide-ranging interests.
For his exhibition, Mulder engaged with the curious medieval book 'The Travels of Sir John Mandeville'. The exact publication date of The Travels of Sir John Mandeville remains unknown. Many questions about the book’s origins remain: in what language was it originally written? Who was John Mandeville really? His own claim – that he was an English knight who travelled for 34 years – is most likely fictional. The book is a literary pastiche, composed of dozens of existing sources.
Warre Mulder uses Mandeville’s work as a starting point to reflect – through his idiosyncratic sculptural approach – on the scope of storytelling and imagination. Mandeville may not have been an accurate traveller, but he collected stories – and with them, perspectives: perspectives from the Middle Ages on people and places known mostly through tales. Mulder continues that conversation. His colourful sculptures build on Mandeville’s collage-like characters. They are not mimetic representations: anyone consulting the original text will notice that Mulder’s figures diverge from the descriptions. He envisioned them anew, letting form follow fantasy.

Sixtine Bérard