Anne Julie Andersen

“And so I henceforth devote myself to creating in service, regardless of what is truly the makeup of my soul; my most disgraceful and sullied aspiration, to be not an artist, but merely regarded as one.” Told through a first-person narrator, the story develops over three chapters, each situated in a different institutional context: a clinic, a nursing home, and an agency, each setting unfolding as a site of inquiry. Exploring the intersection between artistic practice as a vocation and a constructed persona, the work offers commentary on contemporary notions of self-optimization, identity performance, and moral aspiration. Presented as an illustrated book, it draws on the visual language of medieval illuminated manuscripts, merging historical ornamentation with original hand-drawn and digital illustrations. Live readings incorporate subtle performative elements - costume and prosthetics - further blurring the boundary between devotion, design, and artistic identity.