Fri 08.09 → 18:00-00:00 Sat 09.09 → 10:00-18:00 Sun 10.09 → 10:00-18:00
Presentation Interne 7: Lies Caeyers
Having attained a Master’s degree from Sint Lucas Antwerp, Interne 7 Lies Caeyers (°1982) had the chance to build on her experience with an additional Master’s year at Konstfack University of Art, Crafts and Design in Stockholm, Sweden. In 2015 she shared her oeuvre in the first fully-fledged exhibition of her work, Kabinet. During the summer of 2016 Lies Caeyers took part in Art festival Watou 2016, a group exhibition about identity, diversity and empathy.
Based on a vast collection of packaging material and the writings of a.o. Roland Barthes, Lies Caeyers (1982, Leuven) takes off her residency with an investigation into plastic, as a substance, as a cultural concept. Plastic can be considered as a highlight in the history of human dominance over nature. It’s an invention that emanates from an almost divine urge for transformation and imitation. However, this sublime product soon degenerates into the prosaic realm of household consumption. It has ultimately become a synonym for ‘fake’, ‘kitsch’, ‘rubbish’ and symbolises throw-away society and pollution.
This supernatural produce of a superhuman aspiration clearly is a paradox. It raises question about ‘the sublime’, ‘perfectibility’, ‘emptiness’ and calls for experimentation.
“How could plastic be disconnected from its common usable features? Can it recapture its magical status? Could it function as a mere generator of atmosphere, free from connotation? Would it be possible to even imitate plastic?During a 3-day show she presents the outcome of her residency at Gouvernement.
Caeyers examines how she can construct a testing room which, by means of the sophisticated use of minimal materials, lighting and layout, holds a paradoxical ambience. She’s looking for ways to subject a visitor to certain contradictory emotions.
Is it possible to make silence quieter? To make a certain chill even colder? How can a certain atmosphere give rise to peacefulness or indifference on the one hand and restlessness or vigilance on the other?
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*INTERNEN is Gouvernement’s residency program focused on research, experiment and leaving comfort zones. Participants will be granted 4 weeks of investigation in an embryonic process. Be it very first steps or off-track maneuvers, the accent lies on development rather than on result. It’s about trying, failing and trying again. There are no restrictions on disciplines or themes.