Leto Keunen is a Brussels based visual artist and designer exploring the intersections of objects, social dynamics, and power structures. Her practice critically examines gender narratives and the relationships between public and domestic spaces, using spatial and material practices as a tool for questioning and reimagining existing systems.
Through a research-driven and participatory approach, she engages in installation art and speculative scenarios to challenge societal norms and foster critical reflection. Her work considers everyday practices as sites of resistance and collective transformation, seeking to inspire alternative modes of social interaction and shared responsibility.
materials: Copper & Steel
2023
When people move through the city, it is often to go from point A to point B. Once night falls, there are few people who would willingly stay in the places where most women would be afraid. In small alleys, dark parks, or by the waterfront. What would happen if someone purposefully looked out for the safety of others in those places and assumed the role of a ‘rescuer’?
The chair can be adaptively installed on existing lampposts and women’s experiences can be heard through a megaphone. Whoever sits in this chair becomes the eyes on the street.
This chair was part of a project about gender-related fear in public spaces. During a year-long proces I introduced various design interventions, objects, and actions that would empower individuals in an urban environment and activate bystanders to take a proactive role in the city.
This piece was exhibited at De Fabriek during Dutch Design Week 2023.