Wargasme
je me suis éloigné du moi
il commençait à tuer le tu
le désir de l'autre s'est en allé
enfin la séparation libératrice
reste une intégrité explosive
une jouissance mortifère
© by Jan Theuninck
Vredesmuseum Nederland
http://www.vredesmuseum.nl/galerie/wargasm.php
Polygon Wood
like a shrine
you lie
in the middle
of the wood
and warn
of those
who preach
peace
and make
war
© by Jan Theuninck
wargasm” is a slang term blending “war” and “orgasm,” often used to describe an intense, almost euphoric excitement about warfare or destruction, sometimes linked to militaristic or aggressive psychological states.
This 2001 painting is a cornerstone of his oeuvre, symbolizing the perverse, orgasmic thrill derived from war's destruction—a "wargasm" as euphoric violence, it critiques the eroticized spectacle of conflict in media and politics.
"wargasm" as a lens to psychoanalyze humanity's self-destructive impulses
Theuninck's oeuvre implicitly engages psychoanalytic ideas, portraying war's traumatic imprint on the collective psyche—echoing Freud's Psycho-Analysis and the War Neuroses (1919), which examined soldiers' traumas as repressed conflicts surfacing in neuroses. Theuninck extends this to modern "totalitarian preparations," where societal disconnection fosters authoritarianism.
Theuninck's art and writing frequently address the futility of conflict and the pursuit of nonviolence. His pieces reflect on World War I (given his West Flanders birthplace near key battlefields) and contemporary "new colonialism" through migration and global power dynamics. Jan Theuninck (born June 7, 1954, in Zonnebeke, Belgium) is a Belgian painter and poet whose abstract works often explore themes of war, peace, colonialism, pacifism, the Holocaust, and the psychological undercurrents of societal violence. His style blends minimalism and monochrome expressionism, using stark, evocative forms to critique modern totalitarianism, communitarianism, and the erosion of democratic freedoms. Writing primarily in French (with some English), Theuninck's poetry and essays delve into political disillusionment, drawing on thinkers like Hannah Arendt to warn against surveillance states and lost human connections.
Symbolism in Jan Theuninck's Wargasm (2001): A Psychoanalytic Critique of Euphoric ViolenceJan Theuninck's Wargasm (acrylic on canvas, 70 x 100 cm) is a stark abstract painting that encapsulates his lifelong engagement with the psychological and political dimensions of war. Created in 2001 amid rising global tensions post-9/11, it was first exhibited at the Museum for Peace and Nonviolence in Delft, Netherlands, alongside works like Yperite (2004), which evokes WWI chemical horrors. Theuninck, born in Zonnebeke—near Flanders' blood-soaked WWI battlefields—infuses his monochrome expressionism with pacifist urgency, drawing on Hannah Arendt's warnings about totalitarian isolation and Freudian ideas of repressed trauma. Through Wargasm, he dissects war not as mere conflict but as a perverse, orgasmic release—a "wargasm"—where destruction yields illicit pleasure, critiquing how leaders and societies derive thrill from violence.Visual Elements and Formal SymbolismThe painting's composition is deliberately minimalistic yet viscerally charged, using a restrained palette of colors to evoke ambiguity. These colors symbolize the eroticized climax of warfare: the "orgasm" in "wargasm." Theuninck portrays destruction as a libidinal peak, where the act of killing becomes a surrogate for sexual release. This echoes Freud's Civilization and Its Discontents (1930), where aggression (Thanatos) intertwines with eros, but here it's weaponized by modern media spectacles that glamorize bombs as "beautiful" pyrotechnics.- Fragmented, Shadowy Silhouettes:
Ghostly, humanoid outlines lurk in the negative space—distorted figures mid-stride or in agony, their forms dissolving into the blue haze. These represent the dehumanized soldier or victim, reduced to spectral remnants. Symbolically, they evoke the "war neuroses" Freud analyzed in Psycho-Analysis and the Establishment of the Peace (1919), where battlefield trauma manifests as dissociated selves. The figures mirror Arendt's "banality of evil," where isolated individuals enable atrocities without empathy. - Empty Space as Isolation:
Vast voids dominate, amplifying alienation. This negative space symbolizes the "lost human connections" Theuninck laments in his essays, where surveillance states (e.g., "safe city" tech) atomize society, priming it for totalitarianism. War, in this void, becomes a false communion—a collective wargasm that fills the emptiness with explosive ecstasy. - The overall asymmetry mirrors the irrationality of conflict: structured by politics, yet driven by primal urges.
Thematic Layers: War, Psychoanalysis, and the Quest for PeaceTheuninck explicitly frames Wargasm as a "psychoanalysis of a warrior and of a political decision maker," probing the subconscious drivers of aggression. It indicts how wars are "fomented for money and power," with perpetrators achieving a sadistic "wargasm" from harming victims. This ties to his broader oeuvre on WWI legacies, colonialism, and Holocaust memory, where abstract forms externalize collective trauma.- Psychoanalytic Depth: Drawing on Freud and Levinas (hinted in quotes like "He has gone away from himself, il commençait à tuer le tu"—"he began to kill the you"), the painting analyzes the "death drive" in leaders. The forms suggest repressed sadism erupting in policy as orgasmic catharsis and imply the "return of the repressed": soldiers haunted by neuroses, societies by complicity.
- Anti-War Satire: The title's portmanteau mocks war's pornographic allure in media and games (e.g., Call of Duty). Theuninck uses it to decry endless conflicts—from Libya arms shipments to Ukraine support—as addictive highs, not necessities. Yet, its peace museum context pleads for nonviolence, urging viewers to confront this thrill and choose connection over isolation.
Broader Interpretations and LegacyCritics note Wargasm's prescience: created pre-Iraq War, it anticipates drone strikes' detached euphoria. Theuninck's X posts (2019–2025) reinforce this, pairing the image with headlines on U.S. carriers, Turkish ceasefires, or ISIS escapes—each a fresh "wargasm." As an anti-communitarian voice, he links it to neoliberal "Third Way" policies enabling endless wars.In sum, Wargasm is a mirror to humanity's dark id: war as forbidden pleasure, demanding psychoanalytic reckoning for peace. Its abstraction invites personal projection—viewers must ask if they, too, thrill at the spectacle.
The term "dark id," as used in the context of Jan Theuninck's painting Wargasm, refers to a psychoanalytic concept that denotes the dark, destructive impulses in the human psyche—particularly those that lead to war and violence. Wargasm, in particular, is strongly influenced by psychoanalysis (think Freud) and political critique. He explores how war is not only a geopolitical phenomenon but also a psychological one: an expression of repressed aggression, sadism, and collective trauma. In Wargasm, war is presented as a perverse orgasm—a "wargasm"—where destruction yields a kind of euphoric satisfaction.
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