Pim Fortuyn Diary

In these thirty drawings, Erik van Lieshout presents a picture of the ups and downs in the life of Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn. The fame, the power, the nationalism, the sex and, of course, his assassination – all of this is depicted in Van Lieshout’s characteristically raw and incisive manner. Van Lieshout uses existing photographic material in this work , alongside pencil, charcoal and collage techniques. A magazine photograph of Fortuyn’s bald head – almost his trademark – and a collage of the Dutch flag are immediately recognisable to a Dutch audience and establish the subject of this work at a single glance. The intensity and directness with which Van Lieshout draws and lives seem to demonstrate similarities with Fortuyn’s way of life. Neither man is (or was) afraid of populism and provocative behaviour; both could be accused of banality, aggression and political incorrectness; there is a shared obsession with sex and porn. Or, as Van Lieshout himself puts it: 'Eroticism is the driving force behind everything; it is my motivation.' Fortuyn could just as easily have said the same. However, Van Lieshout does not have Fortuyn’s fear of a multicultural society. In fact, it was as a protest against the nationalism and xenophobia of Fortuynism that Van Lieshout decided to base himself in Rotterdam Zuid, a neighbourhood that is known for its multiculturalism. And so this work is also a criticism of Fortuynism; ridiculing those almost limitless fears and the lust for power. Fortuyn was utterly lacking in self-mockery and humour, the typical features of Van Lieshout’s work – because ultimately wasn’t Pim himself the greatest fan of Fortuynism? It seems very much as though by creating this work – in the form of illustrated pages from a diary – Van Lieshout is holding up a mirror to Pim Fortuyn.