Fiona Tan sculpture exhibition at Rijksmuseum

As soon as you step into the Philips Wing, Tan's cinematic universe unfolds: graphic prints, disturbing masks, embroideries and intimate portraits from the Rijksmuseum depository. Each one whispers a story of obsession, illness and stigma. Fiona Tan quietly answers questions such as: what did "monomania" mean? And were people diagnosed by their faces?

At Monomania forms Théodore Géricaults Portrait of a Kleptomaniac (from the series Les Monomanes) the starting point of a quest that, through works by Goya, Munch and Raden Saleh, culminates in a broader reflection on representation, power and empathy. The story is reinforced by unexpected objects: christening gowns, Japanese Noh masks, psychiatry memorabilia as well as collages of embroidery, each with a dark side..

The work culminates in Janine's Room, new and created especially for this exhibition. A black-and-white video installation that slowly blurs reality and imagination. You follow a woman between books and curtains - a hushed meditation on memory, obsession and voyeurism.

"Monomania fragments the lens through which we view normality - and invites compassion."

Fiona Tan is a research-based artist who often plays with identity and representation. In Monomania she brings together her artistic voice with medical and social history - showcasing a past that exactly matches the debate about mental health today.