22.03.24, 20:00, Boekvoorstelling Amidst the fire, I am not burnt

Researchers De Cleene De Cleene present a new book: Amidst the fire, I am not burnt (Roma Publications 462).

In April 1872, Vesuvius erupted in a violent cataclysm. It is considered to be the first volcanic eruption ever photographed. Major eruptions have followed since, with the next eruption dangerously looming. Each eruption leads to the next cataclysm, each period of quietude to forgetfulness and complacency.

Amidst the fire, I am not burnt is a documentary approach of the iconic landscape shaped by Vesuvius. It researches the different temporalities, scientific and popular approaches, historic and present-day photographic representations, and stories inscribed in this cyclical landscape.

Amidst the fire, I am not burnt interweaves documentary writing and photography in a constellation of subjects ranging from the historic and present-day observatories, breadcrust bombs, a parking lot inside the mountain, Neapolitan outskirts, superstitious residents, derelict quarries, antennas, chunks of volcanic rock, souvenirs, a muon detector, marble plaques, twelve students who perished near the crater, vegetation, archaeological sites, government workers standing around a bonfire, and lovers parked along the nightly road leading up the volcano. As each eruption adds a layer on top of the last, Vesuvius senses, stores, destroys, shapes and transmits information.

Get your copy at the booklaunch on 22 March in 019, support your local bookshop, or order directly from Idea Books.

Arnout De Cleene and Michiel De Cleene are affiliated as an artistic researcher to KASK & Conservatorium, the school of arts of HOGENT and howest. The research project Documenting Objects was financed by the HOGENT Arts Research Fund.