Publik Universal Frxnd (fka Richard John Jones)

De Bult is a temporary bar installed at Kunsthuis SYB for the duration of the exhibition. The bar takes its name from the nick-name of Jurrien Christiaens from Leeuwarden who was executed in 1730 under the charge of sodomy. In addition to this, Christiaens or ‘De Bult’ operated a ‘lolhuis’ in his home, a clandestine sex space frequented by men in the 18th century. During the same period, the Dutch sea dikes were threatened by shipworms. Hell-and-damnation preachers associated this with the immoral crimes of homosexuals, or sodomites, uncovered in Utrecht in 1730. In Groningen, a special day of prayer was proposed against the shipworm and against sodomy. De Bult is a continuation of a long-term project initiated by the Publik Universal Frxnd with Philipp Gufler on the disappearance of queer social space. Its previous manifestations included “Moby Dyke” at Florida Lothringer 13, Munich and “Bei Cosy” at Rongwrong, Amsterdam.
The Publik Universal Frxnd’s work is concerned with the interaction between visual forms of representation/abstraction and political forms of recognition and marginalization. They work with textiles and domestic craft techniques alongside performance, video and installation.

The Frxnd’s work has been shown recently in a solo presentation at Rozenstraat - a rose is a rose is a rose, Amsterdam, and previously at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin and the Gwangju Biennial, Gwangju in collaboration with AA Bronson.