Art: Artist Fleur Khani releases new single Relaps and creates a foundation for entrepreneurship in the performance arts.
Belgian-Iranian Fleur Khani has created a foundation for artists and entrepreneurs, to stimulate individual entrepreneurship in the performance arts as well as to bridge the gap between artists and entrepreneurs. “I am at my best artistically when I can work as an entrepreneur. I noticed that this is a relatively new way of functioning for artists. That’s why I created the Khani Foundation together with serial entrepreneur Peter Paelinck, to set an example that as an artist I can take full responsibility for my career, and be less dependent on the ever so precarious means in the arts.”
With her new single Relaps Fleur Khani shows that she can’t be put in a box. As a performance artist she’s worked in theatres all over Belgium, as well as in London, Berlin and Vienna. For a few years, she’s been writing and producing her own pop music, drawing us into her universe of video art and very personal texts.
“As an artist with roots in the Middle East, I can also choose NOT to talk about my heritage. That in and of itself is a statement. I noticed very clearly working in theatre that I was expected to always bring the story of the immigrant, yet I’ve moved past that stage and now want to address topics that are important for me today. The possibility of intimacy. The safety or the danger of proximity. The lure of addiction. That’s what’s preoccupying me on a personal level. Maybe if we can free ourselves in interpersonal relationships, we can also be free socially and politically. That is why I created the Khani Foundation and that is the message I spread with my music.”
The video of Relaps (produced by Shimera Film, Brussels) is as addictive as the love Khani sings about. “Visually I was inspired by drawings of Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt that show hands gripping skin. I really wanted to research how we could depict intimacy yet stay within the realm of high art.”
Fleur Khani is based in Antwerp. She makes music that she defines as oriental art pop: songs that show her vocal as well as physical performance, with lyrics that are mysterious and highly personal. Khani’s style? A mix of poetry, pop and electronics. Her message? Freedom, femininity and a dash of mystique.
Watch the Relaps video:
