Exhibition connects art and legal sciences
‘Art and science can co-exist.’ On 16 August, Dean Suzan Stoter spoke these words when she opened the exhibition ‘Wet op beeld: De Saksenspiegel eeuwenoud modern’, created by visual artist Ilja Walraven and legal scholar Helen Stout. They believe that images can enhance the comprehensibility of legal concepts.
The exhibition came about using an integrated approach. Ilja Walraven gave a glimpse of how this process worked by explaining how the relationship between image and the law was examined. There was a true blend of disciplines since the artist worked in the scholar’s study and the scholar worked in the artist's studio. The result is a series of almost 60 unique panels and a flip book.
The exhibition focuses on a medieval law book: the Saxony Mirror (known in Dutch as the ‘Saksenspiegel’). This 13th century document, written by hand on parchment, lays down rules of customary law of Saxony. Besides the text, the manuscript contains a large number of original, colourful drawings. It is not known what the exact meaning of these drawings was. They possibly offered a full alternative to the text. Some experts believe the drawings were intended for illiterate people or 'readers' who spoke a different language.
-
The exhibition in the Mesdag Room -
Legal scholar Helen Stout at the exhibition -
Suzan Stoter opens the exhibition -
Suzan Stoter during her opening speech -
Ilja Walraven addresses the public -
Ilja Walraven explains the exhibition -
Plate with a portrait of Helen Stout -
Plate with a portrait of Ilja Walraven -
-
Visitors at the exhibition 'Wet op beeld'. -
Helen Stout and Ilja Walraven. -
Visitor wearing a Leiden Law School sweater admires the artworks -
Visitors with maquette
Ilja Walraven and Helen Stout have used the Saxon Mirror as a historical analogy for future laws that contain images. The exhibition’s creators believe that we live in a visual world. Young people are reading less, especially where formal language is used in, for example, legislative texts. This can become problematic in the future.
For a long time, it was expected that the average person should know the law. However, this belief is increasingly fading in society. Ultimately, the gap between citizens and the law could become so wide that the law will lose its legitimacy. This would pose a clear threat to the survival of the rule of law. According to Walraven and Stout, a powerful image combined with concise legislative text can offer a solution and help bridge the gap between citizens and the law. In any case, this is a promising perspective which the exhibition’s creators feel should be included as a new theme on the scientific agenda. Suzan Stoter: ‘What insights can the centuries-old Saxon Mirror provide to help make laws more accessible? This is a first step towards a visual future for the law.’
Visit the exhibition
You can visit the exhibition at the Puchri Studio on the Lange Voorhout in The Hague from 16 August to 7 Setpember. Entry is free.