"There are no tyrannies that would not try to limit art, because they can see the power of art. Art can tell the world things that cannot be shared otherwise. It is art that conveys feelings."

 - Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine 

Jan Cox

(c)image: M HKA
Verkrachte vrouw bleek niet dood
Drawing , 600 x 455 mm
collage, colored pencil and newspaper article on paper

Cox's later work is marked by profound reflections on worldly reality and life.  These are pieces where aspects of inner emotionality and outer engagement are woven together.  Something hardly strange, if we consider that during this time Cox suffered from emotionally exhausting manic-depressive episodes, with periods of hyperactivity followed by heavy downs.

During this time, after The Iliad of Homer (1974-1975), he published various editions of graphic works, and experimented with combinations of diverse materials always supplemented with language and text.  The collage Verkrachte vrouw bleek niet dood is one result of this investigative process.

It was while Cox was in Boston - he was based there from 1956 to 1974 - that his girlfriend Marlene was victim of an assault.  Back in Belgium he tried to in a way process this violent trauma.  In Verkrachte vrouw bleek niet dood, Jan Cox reflects on these emotions via the case of Henriette D. in the town of Lier (1974).  The related press cutting accompanies the sketchily rendered, tormented female figure.  This theme was also further elaborated in a similar undated collage.