dissolve into a red dwarf

One of the triggers of the exhibition “dissolve into a red dwarf” was the work of Jean Brusselmans’ “self-portrait with an easel” from 1935. It shows the foundation of the conflict within being an artist. It shows a certain melancholy, a ten- sion between chaos and construction, a mirror of the inevitable shortage. The work can be read in different ways. It suggests an activation of duality.

The works of art of contemporary artists that have been selected increase this tensile field and expand it. All other links have been constructed from this work to finally make new connections and partly let go of the original work. The se- lected works testify of the conflict between construction and chaos, life and death, illusion and reality, between void and plenty, between despair and decisiveness. Somewhere also humility, melancholy and the movement that is inher- ent to life and that cannot be surpassed by any static model or format.

The connections are associative and organic, they move like a domino stone that makes all other stones fall but then from an undulating movement that runs not linear. The idea of a dialogue is the basis of this exhibition. Each work has its own right of existence and necessity. It is not about the artist himself/herself or about an intellectual debate where the paintings often serve as an illustration but to create a tension wherein each work shows its own necessity, where its particularity is guarded, where the works are activated by their underlying interconnectivity.

Man has a need to be connected with a world outside himself to escape from the threat of loneliness and his own nothingness. The “great doctrines” and myths in which man was given a place in the collectiveness are behind us; the current context is one of continuous deconstruction.

In this small, closed world, wherein the appearance of hyper-narcissism and individualism are rampant, we move around and complete our desires with surrogates that lead us into an endless stream of needs and promises. Our awareness and fear of the void, death, chaos, the unknown appears to be a motor for culture throughout human evo- lution which has enabled us, for example, to rise above ourselves by means of art but which also brought the illusion to be able to dominate the world. Beneath the technocratic, objectivist, rationalist mask hides irrationality, the imposed chaos, the fears that finally dominate us and keep us in deadlock. Especially today where to transcend oneself in a world outside oneself has become almost impossible and where we assimilate fragilely in an enclosed individuality (closed nucleus).

Nevertheless, we have seen times where the starry sky was more dominant in our worldview than our clear, slick screens and iPhones, where we seemed to be connected by myths to a larger whole.

The exhibition “dissolve into a red dwarf” tries to mirror these tensions. The exhibition searches rifts and openings: the praxis of “mental” nomadism.

H.S.

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Island is a non profit art space which was opened in 2012 by two young Belgian artists Sébastien Bonin and Brice Guilbert and is now directed by Anne-Catherine Lacroix and Emmanuelle Indekeu. Since its begining Island’s aim has been to promote young artists through exhibitions, conferences, screenings, etc. Differencing itself from a gallery, Island does not represent artists but invites each time again new artists for each of the different projects organised.

Through these activities Island offers a platform to young artists to present their works to the public in solo or group ex- hibitions, on a subject or reflection chosen by either the artist, a curator or Island’s team. For the most part artists get a free pass and can appropriate the space for themselves.

With the exhibition dissolve into a red dwarf, Island collaborated with artist Helmut Stallaerts who co-curated the show. The idea for the exhibition came to the artist’s mind a while ago as he wanted to create a dialogue between artworks, his co-curators from Island and the public. Enabling in turn the public to reflect in front of the artworks, questionning them without recieving specific answers. After two years of discussion and preparation, the exhibition has finally come to fruition.

* We decided to give this exhibition a litlle twist. After long discussions about the exhibition’s organisation with Helmut, we settled on the idea of substituting some of the original art pieces for pixelised prints of them. The pixelised images are a symbol of society’s censorship over production, in this particular case, the reproduction of images for the viewer to consume. But also of a censorship of what the lack of money can cause to any kind of initiative.