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 fifth presentation came from Guillaume Désanges. He paid tribute to the atmosphere evoked by empty plastic bags whirling around. Various artists have picked this up and many have created highly poetic work around it. Désanges selected work by Boris Achour, Edith Dekyndt, Éric Hattan, Igor & Svetlana Kopystiansky, Kevin Landers, Isabelle Le Minh, Zoe Leonard, Franck Scurti, and Lois & Franziska Weinberger. In the middle of the nineties the same motif appeared almost simultaneously in various works of art: a plastic bag being blown about and sometimes ending up in the branches of a tree. What struck me most was that strangely enough this image appeared everywhere, and simultaneously. Each work displayed here has its own formal and conceptual importance but they are all inspired by a common spirit which also resulted in the Hollywood film industry picking up this theme in the famous scene in ‘American Beauty’ in 1998. The plastic bag being blown around symbolises freedom, uncontrolled movements, an almost anthropomorphic choreography and a spontaneous new urban ornament. Furthermore, it can also be regarded as a special sign of the times. After the mid-nineties a new ecological awareness began to prevail with regard to plastic bags, and people began to see them as a symbol of an extravagant, futile society that was indifferent to the environment. The plastic bag suddenly appeared to fall into disfavour, it was the focus of all blame and resentment and was gradually banned from the supermarkets. In these recurring images we can distinguish a touch of nostalgia, like a melancholy forerunner. However, even though it is contemptible, vulgar, prosaic and unloved, there is something moving about a plastic bag. There is a moving contradiction between its incredible strength (it can carry up to 2000 its own weight and has remained indestructible for centuries) and its weakness (abandoned, blown about, swirling in the wind). A symbol of a ‘feeble’ resistance to order and an unwillingness to enter into direct confrontation, a symbol of a supernatural grace that appears in everyday life, the swirling plastic bag represents a special spirit of the nineties. Text: Guillaume Désanges
Proposition 1 - Michel François Proposition 2 - Loïc Vanderstichelen Proposition 3 - Daniel McClean Proposition 4 - Yves Brochard 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
