The Belly of an Architect

An American architect whose devotion to Boullée and his own artistic project destabilizes his marriage and health. His cancer diagnosis intensifies a crisis of ambition versus life, culminating in a tragic confrontation with the exhibition’s outcome.

Stourley’s much younger wife, who discovers she is pregnant as they pursue a new life in Italy. Her affair with Caspasian and the pregnancy propel a web of secrecy that tests loyalties and accelerates the couple’s unraveling.

The younger co-organiser whose charm masks manipulation; he siphons funds and challenges Kracklite’s authority, weaving itself into the family and project dynamics through strategic alliances.

Caspasian’s sister and a photographer who becomes entangled with Kracklite. Her presence heightens the exhibition’s sexual tension and visual scrutiny, complicating loyalties and ambitions.

An Italian associate involved in the exhibition network, contributing to the financial and political maneuvers that undermine Kracklite.

An integral member of the Italian group around the project, whose actions and alliances add friction to Kracklite’s leadership.

A figure within the Italian entourage whose role contributes to the exhibition’s internal politics and conflicts.

Part of the institutional circle shaping the project’s administration and power dynamics around the Boullée exhibition.

A member of the Speckler family circle whose actions intersect with the family’s ambition and the exhibition’s fate.

A participant in the Italian network whose involvement influences the unfolding drama surrounding the exhibition.