Helen Anna Flanagan

For Publiek Park, Helen Anna Flanagan presented a video that interacted with and reflected on the specific genius loci of Citadelpark and its complex social fabric, using inventive dialogues and evocative audiovisual scenes. The inner spaces of the Poortgebouw—the only visible remnant of the original citadel—were opened to the public for the first time in years, following a long closure due to squatting issues.

Swamps & Ponds is loosely inspired by the speculative origins of a peasant community known as the Toxicophagi. This group reportedly developed resistance to arsenic by consuming it regularly. Arsenic, as a symbolic starting point, opens a space to explore the power of invisible substances or systems and the resilience of a marginalised collective. The film investigates the impact of such substances and unseen toxic forces on both environments and their inhabitants. It echoes current societal tensions around urban planning and recalls the original vision for Citadelpark as a green, health-giving retreat for the bourgeoisie amid a rapidly industrialising and increasingly polluted city.