INTRODUCTION: SURREALISM IN BELGIUM
Patricia Allmer
Jan Dirk Baetens
Hilde Van Gelder

The aim of Collective Inventions is not to give a holistic account of Surrealism in Belgium. That history is complex, consisting of a number of groups which met, formed, split up and reformed, whilst the meanings it produced are so multiple and varied that it seems almost impossible to summarize them without losing some of Surrealism’s intrinsic complexity. This is also the reason why terms such as ‘Belgian Surrealism’ or ‘Belgian Surrealist group’ need to be used with care, perhaps even avoided. As Xavier Canonne has observed in his recent landmark study Le Surréalisme en Belgique, most of the Surrealist periodicals and exhibitions, as well as most of the testimonies by the key figures of Surrealism in Belgium, rather unmask or deny the existence of Something that could be called ‘the Surrealist movement’, than support the use of such a notion (Canonne, 2006, 11). Therefore, the contributors to the present collection have preferred to offer glimpses into these fascinating manifestations of Surrealism in Belgium rather than trying to give a general overview. The essays brought together here offer intriguing analyses, ranging from explorations of specific historical turning points and moments, to close case studies of artists and the meanings of their artistic production. The following historical account has only been included to give a broad background to the essays presented here and is, as a result, far from complete. It can only touch on some key moments and key figures of the different Surrealist establishments in Belgium.

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