Shamebone

In 1969, Black Venus was awarded the Triennial State Prize for Prose. In 2015, on Geeraerts' death, it was included in the Canon of Flemish-Dutch Literature. Five years later in 2020, the novel was again removed from the list. The committee ruled that Geeraerts' views on colonialism and women were nauseating. The book is brimming with abuses of power, distorted images of women and 'the savage', flat racism and endless pornographic passages with minors.

How should we deal with our acclaimed literary heritage that today is perceived as offensive and rancid, but actually always was for many? Do old adulated works of art hold up now that their painful conceptions put us to shame?

In the performance Shamebone, the creatorship is shared by a young black actress (Musia Mwankumi) and a middle-aged white actor (Valentijn Dhaenens). Together, they engage with Geeraerts' book and place great questioning and emotion on today's reading of the novel. Shamebone is a conversation between two people of today about what they are ashamed of, what arouses their indignation, what they call art and whether it is timeless or not.


Content warnings:

Sexual violence / language + misogyny / misogynoir + racism + Not suitable for minors