“Derivations of the Insula”
or -“I came here to isolate, solace found me.”
vixnde
TX: Monday, 14 September⋅6:30 – 7:00pm
Wednesday, 16 September⋅12:30 – 1:00pm
insula (n.) Latin, literally “an island” (also, in ancient Rome, “a block of buildings”); see isle. In anatomical use, the notion is “detached or standing out by itself.” (etymonline.com).
In June 2026, artist Viana Afoumou (vixnde) was sent to Scotland by Rotterdam-based Radio WORM to spend a week in Cove Park and to make a radio piece for Radiophrenia. Upon arrival, she disconnected her pink phone line (see bio), leaving her audience with an online voicemail box and the question: How do you isolate yourself in a hyper-connected society?
Fascinated in her youth by the tales of isolated adventurers, such as “The Consolations of the Forest” (Sylvain Tesson), “Into the Wild” (John Krakauer/Sean Penn), “The Call of the Wild” (Jack London), or “Walden, or life in the woods” (Henry David Thoreau), she came to Cove Park with a fantasy: Exploring new depths within herself through isolation, detached from the rest of the world, so to say “lost” in nature. Yet, she realised soon enough she would not be alone there. Not only was she sharing the space with other artists: Writer and producer Kate Bowen, visual artists Omid Asadi and Elham Rafiei, Roy Boswell, Maeva Totolehibe, Hormi Chen, artist and photographer Kate Bellanger and artist Caroline Galderisi. She also met all sorts of other residents among the different animal, vegetal, and organic species inhabiting the area. What does it mean to “isolate”, when being a part of, and surrounded by, ecosystems?
“Life is a mystery. Everyone must stand alone. I hear you call my name! And it feels like…” (Madonna, Like a Prayer). Is this what solace feels like?
Having been told since a teenager that her voice could sooth a stallion in heat, vixnde decided to take her talents seriously and to use them for the common good. In “Le Téléphone Rose”, your calls and voice messages (0909 – 7777 777, €0,15/minute) become an integral part of the radio show – streamed on Radio WORM and Operator Radio, two Rotterdam-based radio stations. Le Téléphone Rose is also a research project, questioning how we connect to each other in the midst of social media, and the (taboo) role of sex work in this search for connection.
*vixnde: pronounced viande [vjɑ̃d], meaning “meat” in French is the product of a lifetime by Brussels-born singer-songwriter Viana Afoumou. This neologism and analogy crystallises the discrepancies she experiences as a female artist; having realized that, to be a part of the music industry, she would have to brand, package and sell herself, all-the-while staying “authentic” and presenting original work. She decided to play with these contradictions, by becoming her own product. Her genre, Raw Pop, is a wink to the extreme categorisation of music, a pun to raw meat, and a reference to her sound.
“Suddenly, I was surrounded by horses. I sat by the water to refresh my feet, then I laid down and I closed my eyes. After a few minutes, one of them came by and sniffed my nose. I was a bit scared but I stayed still. The horse was whispering a song”. – vixnde
