Kris Dittel
An Infinite Love Letter
On Desire, Intimacy, and the Politics of Love
In Büchsenhausen, Kris Dittel explores the relationship between intimacy, love, and desire, examining their political potential. During the fellowship, she will develop new writing that builds upon her Infinite Love Letter project, which merges the intimacy of the epistolary form with both theoretical insights and personal reflections.
An Infinite Love Letter: On Desire, Intimacy, and the Politics of Love investigates how various forms of desire, both normative and non-normative, contribute to shaping realities. She is particularly interested in the role of fantasy and imagination in forging our understanding of what is possible and permissible to desire, and how these forces ultimately affect the ways we relate to each other and live our lives.
In this project, Kris Dittel considers desire not only as a personal or private experience but as force carrying political potential. She asks questions such as: Can love be considered a political project beyond the capitalist logic of romance? How do desire and the production of desire in and through art play into this issue? What role does intimacy play in forming social bonds, and how might art expand our understanding of love as a political force?
Her investigation draws on readings and dialogues with artists, researchers, writers, and others whose work examines the experience and expression of desire. This fellowship also marks a continuation of her Infinite Love Letter project, further developing its exploration of intimate writing as a medium for critical reflection on love, desire, and social connection.
Text: Kris Dittel
Kris Dittel (The Netherlands/Slovakia) is a curator, editor and writer. Her practice is driven by long-term research projects that materialize in various forms, including exhibitions, publications, public events, performances, texts, talks, and more.
Her most recent project, Unruly Kinships, included an exhibition, a study group series, and an event program, co-curated with Aneta Rostkowska (Temporary Gallery CCA, Cologne 2022-24). This project explored possibilities of kinship beyond the nuclear family and examined ways we may form relations with/in the world.
With Clem Edwards, Kris Dittel co-edited The Material Kinship Reader (Onomatopee, 2022), which addresses material relations beyond extraction and kinship beyond the nuclear family. Currently, she is co-editing two volumes: Unruly Kinships (Jap Sam Books, 2024) with Aneta Rotskowska, and a children’s book, Life with Fifi (Böks, 2024), with Angelica Falkeling.
Alongside her curatorial and editorial work, Kris Dittel is also an active educator, primarily serving as a research supervisor and writing tutor.
https://krisdittel.com/