At the end of 2008 Michel François had received carte blanche from the S.M.A.K. to determine the exhibition programme in two galleries for more than a year.
François chose two identical exhibition rooms and named his project Faux Jumeaux (false twins). He asked 15 people to each select two works of art which, although very similar with regard to form or material, were created independently. Which similarities or differences between the two works come to light when ‘mirrored’ in the two identical galleries?
The second presentation for "Faux Jumeaux" came from Loïc Vanderstichelen. He supplemented the "Faux Jumeaux" which had already been set up, with video work by Max Linder and the Marx Brothers. Max Linder – who is known as a comic actor in the silent film genre in the 20s and 30s of last century – gave a brilliant performance in Seven years of Bad Luck (1921). A few decades later, the Marx Brothers became famous in America for their comic films which included Duck Soup (1933), a short film in which a mirror is also part of the main role. Besides this forceful "Faux Jumeaux" Vanderstichelen introduced yet another video by Jacques Tati (1907-1982). The film Jour de Fête, which was shot in 1949, was simultaneously filmed in black-and-white and in Thomson Color. This colour process however, had already fallen into disuse before the film could be shown. Nonetheless, Tati’s daughter Sophie Tatischeff and François Ede restored the original Thomson Color negative and produced a modern release print in 1955.
Proposition 1 - Michel François Proposition 3 - Daniel McClean Proposition 4 - Yves Brochard Proposition 5 - Guillaume Désanges Proposition 6 - Laurent Jacob Proposition 7 - Raya Lindberg Proposition 8 - Hans Theys Proposition 9 - Frank Maes Proposition 10 - Philippe Van Cauteren Proposition 11 - Rainier Lericolais Proposition 12 - Christine Macel Proposition 13 - François Curlet Proposition 14 - Joël Benzakin Proposition 15 - Lea Gauthier Proposition 16 - Jean-Paul Jacquet
