The Arrangement
2024
Justice as vanitas: arrangements of power and a fading rule of law.
The Arrangement is a series of photographic portraits featuring flower compositions created in collaboration with key stakeholders from human rights and international law tribunals and organisations, including the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Criminal Court (ICC), the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the UN Human Rights Advisory Committee and the UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies.
The artist invited these individuals to select a flower for an arrangement envisioned for a conference addressing the human rights issue they consider most critical. Photographed in the style of historical vanitas painting, the compositions are inhabited by beetles, moths, worms and scorpions—agents of decay that unsettle the idealised image. Their presence underscores the ephemeral nature of justice and the fragile balance between progress and decline in the maintenance of fundamental rights and the rule of law.
Throughout history, flowers have had an enduring presence at events such as political treaty signings, peace negotiations and other symbolic milestones, underscoring their role as potent visual signifiers of what is perceived as the apex of human achievement and evolution. By examining their historical function as instruments that confer symbolic status and legitimacy upon different forms of power, the artist addresses the complex interplay between representation, hierarchy and the role of the artist as an intermediary within this constellation.
Works
The Arrangement (International Criminal Court)
2024
C-type print, artist’s frame, engraved
100 cm × 120 cm
In collaboration with: Judge Solomy Balungi Bossa, Judge Beti Hohler, Judge Kimberly Prost and Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan
The Arrangement: UN Human Rights Treaty Body: Committee on the Rights of the Child
2024
C-type print, artist’s frame, engraved
100 cm × 120 cm
In collaboration with: Ms. Thuwayba Al Barwani, Ms. Mary Beloff, Mr. Rinchen Chophel, Ms. Rosaria Correa, Mr. Bragi Gudbrandsson, Mr. Philip D. Jaffee, Ms. Faith Marshall-Harris, Ms. Aissatou Alassane Sidikou, Mr. Luis Ernesto Pedernera Reyna, Ms. Velina Todorova and Ms. Ratou Jean Zara
The Arrangement (International Court of Justice)
2024
C-type print, artist’s frame, engraved
100 cm × 120 cm
In collaboration with: Judge Hilary Charlesworth, Judge Leonardo Nemer Caldeira Brant, Judge Sarah H. Cleveland, Judge Dire Tladi and Judge Iwasawa Yuji
The Arrangement (UN Human Rights Council Advisory Committee)
2024
C-type print, artist’s frame, engraved
100 cm × 120 cm
In collaboration with: Ms. Vasilka Sancin, Mr. Frans Viljoen, Mr. Aldo de Campos Costa, Ms. Patrycja Sasnal, Mr. Rabah Boudache, Ms. Nadia Amal Bernoussi, Mr. Buhm-Suk Baek and Ms. Milena Costas
The Arrangement (European Court of Justice)
2024
C-type print, artist’s frame, engraved
100 cm × 120 cm
In collaboration with: Judge Petra Škvařilová-Pelzl, President of the Fifth Chamber Jesper Svenningsen, Judge Mariyana Kancheva, Judge Tihamér Tóth, Judge Heikki Kanninen, Judge Johannes Christoph Laitenberger, Judge Ion Gâlea, Judge Damjan Kukovec, President of the Sixth Chamber Maria José Costeira, Judge Gerhard Hesse, Judge Krisztián Kecsmár, Judge Maja Brkan, President of the Third Chamber Fredrik Schalin and President of the Tenth Chamber Ornella Porchia
The Arrangement (European Court of Justice II)
2024
C-type print, artist’s frame, engraved
100 cm × 120 cm
In collaboration with: Vice-President Lars Bay Larsen, President of the Second Chamber Alexandra Prechal, President of the Fourth Chamber Constantinos Lycourgos, President of the Fifth Chamber Eugene Regan, President of the Sixth Chamber Thomas von Danwitz, President of the Seventh Chamber François Biltgen, President of the Eighth Chamber Nuno José Cardoso da Silva Piçarra, President of the Ninth Chamber Octavia Spineanu-Matei, Judge Lucia Serena Rossi, Judge Andreas Kumin, Judge Niilo Jääskinen, Judge Nils Wahl, Advocate General Athanasios Rantos, Advocate General Nicholas Emiliou, Advocate General Tamara Ćapeta, Judge Marko Ilešič, Judge Jan Passer and Advocate General Juliane Kokott
Installation views
Installation view, The Arrangement: International Court of Justice, exhibition U3: Triennial of Contemporary Art in Slovenia, curated by Tevž Logar, Museum of Modern Art Ljubljana, 2024, photo: Matevž Paternoster