The Magnolia Grows at Night
Fransisca AngelaThe Magnolia Grows at Night is drawn from a diary Fransisca Angela kept while making a film of the same title. The work was inspired by the friendship and letters between her oma and a Dutch nun who did missionary work in the Dutch East Indies. A decade after her oma’s death, Fransisca traced the address in Maastricht that led her to a convent, where a community of Indonesian nuns care for elderly Dutch nuns. A large magnolia tree stood inside the convent’s garden, witnessing the care duties and devoted lives these women have chosen to live. The artist book combines text in the form of prose, poetry, and fragments alongside archival images, and photograms of the magnolia petals from the convent’s garden.
€ 27.25 (incl. VAT)
First edition of 200
Author: Fransisca Angela
with contribution from Sr. Terry Novaria Mulijadi and Sr. Filomena Leal Pereira
Editor: Naomi Xu Elegant
Language: English, Bahasa Indonesia, Dutch
One colour risograph, 64pp, 13 x 18cm
ISBN: 978-90-9040053-2
Printed by the artist in Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Fransisca Angela uses image, text, film, and installation to capture everyday lived experiences. Her work mainly touches upon human stories in relation to place, the in-between, and collective memory. Through personal narratives, she invites people to experience life fragments that allow them to reimagine a new reality, standing in for what has been lost amidst adversity. Central to her practice is creating space for collective consciousness through storytelling, and conversation.
fransiscangela.com