The gallery walls are covered in black and white fabric, printed with golden patterns.
The largest canvas, in gold on black fabric, is printed with a woodcut inspired by Dürer’s frontispiece for Sebastian Brant’s ‘Ship of Fools’ (1494), combined with woodcuts inspired by Holbein’s illustrations in his ‘Dance of Death’ (1525).
On the side walls, on the white fabric, we see a woodcut based on three paintings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder: ‘The Fall of the Rebel Angels’ (1562), ‘Dulle Griet’ (1563) and ‘The Triumph of Death’ (1562). But where is the triumph? The artist has left this plate behind in his studio. Although the original paintings are all individually famous, they here come together in the triptych ‘Hell on Earth’.
The black cloth on the side wall depicts Nobody.
Nobody (or Nemo) belongs to a rich tradition. In this work, he is modelled on a mythical figure first depicted by George Shan in 1510, and with which he achieved unprecedented success in the 16th century. The figure is reincarnated in Albrecht Dürer’s etchings for Sebastian Brant’s book ‘Ship of Fools’, amongst others.
Nobody is the archetypal ‘madman’ or ‘fool’. He is literally mute. His mouth is sealed by a lock, and he lives as an outcast amidst the rubbish produced by Everyman. He has feathers on his head, a torn money pouch and bizarre instruments.
He symbolises the secret and deliberately forgotten collective unconscious. Moreover, falsely blamed for the waste, he resigns himself to his fate. He symbolises freedom because – unlike the productive, allegedly omniscient and active Everyman – he owns nothing and knows nothing, being a fool. He accepts this passively, knows himself, renounces everything and disappears.
Nobody’s attributes (and only possession) are two flutes that represent image and sound. Unlike the rational Everyman, he cannot express himself verbally. He communicates in a Dionysian way: through hallucinations, visions and ranting, which Everyman cannot understand. In this way, he bridges the gap between past and present. He symbolises a circular relationship with his environment: a ‘dumpster diver’ par excellence. Nobody can transform old things into new ones.
This woodcut will be used during the performances on 4 October 2024 and 19 January 2025.
