Mi Amor
Mi Amor, A solo exhibition at Sylvester Gallery gent
14feb - 19feb 2023
A valentines exhibition. On one side a functioning Shisha lounge, on the other a Love letter station.
This station consisted of an open call: ‘love letter wall’ and a writing table.
Why shisha? The idea for a shisha lounge was
initially a cozy joke. I have to admit that it also had to do with the aesthetic, the amount of swagger a person possesses while smoking and how people would find a shisha lounge exciting and cool.
But it's about more than image and hype. It's about connection. Smoking has an intimate nature. One that can connect but also isolate. But two secluded in turn generate togetherness. There the iconic line at a party, cafe and occasion still stands:
"Wanna go for a smoke outside?"
The cigarette brings people together without breaking with
individuality. Whilst a hookah brings people together and there must be shared.
So smoking is connecting. But nothing comes close to a
shisha lounge. A place focused on smoking together. There is a device that produces smoke and everyone puts themselves in reach of the hose. In that
imaginary zone, space is created for talking. An anchor point for
speaking. Sucking together from the same pipe has, in addition to connecting, something inherently erotic. The ideal atmosphere for a valentine's exhibition .
As if everything should always come together, Robbe De Pestel
and I started a quest for the best love letter. Titled: 'cakewalk'.
This quest made us realize that the love letter can take many more forms
than the written letter.
Mi Amor is an amalgam of being together, an introduction to
our quest and a cozy joke. All in the sign of Love.
Featuring works by: Robbe de Pestel, Jan Laroy, Dora Brams, Lode De smet van Damme, Honoré D’O, Noah Heylen, Kiara Govaert, Luna Demey, Rik Van Gorp, Dieter Durinck, Shino Matsuura, Jacob Lambrecht, Mark Van Hoek, Femke Florus and many more
Performance by: Beachwave and Zoro
For this occasion I made an edition called: ‘Emergency Love Letter’
And a soundpiece: ‘Love call’
individuality. Whilst a hookah brings people together and there must be shared.
So smoking is connecting. But nothing comes close to a
shisha lounge. A place focused on smoking together. There is a device that produces smoke and everyone puts themselves in reach of the hose. In that
imaginary zone, space is created for talking. An anchor point for
speaking. Sucking together from the same pipe has, in addition to connecting, something inherently erotic. The ideal atmosphere for a valentine's exhibition .
As if everything should always come together, Robbe De Pestel
and I started a quest for the best love letter. Titled: 'cakewalk'.
This quest made us realize that the love letter can take many more forms
than the written letter.
Mi Amor is an amalgam of being together, an introduction to
our quest and a cozy joke. All in the sign of Love.
Featuring works by: Robbe de Pestel, Jan Laroy, Dora Brams, Lode De smet van Damme, Honoré D’O, Noah Heylen, Kiara Govaert, Luna Demey, Rik Van Gorp, Dieter Durinck, Shino Matsuura, Jacob Lambrecht, Mark Van Hoek, Femke Florus and many more
Performance by: Beachwave and Zoro
For this occasion I made an edition called: ‘Emergency Love Letter’
And a soundpiece: ‘Love call’
Smoking area
Love letter stage and station.
Close up writing station
Collection of letters
Love letter by Luna Demey
Benwa playing a set
Love letter of Dora Brams.
Shisha prep room.
Opening night.
Love letter by Jan Laroy.
Maya Chowdhury reading her love letter.
Love letter by Rik Van Gorp.
Love Call.
Love letter by Lode De Smet Van Damme.
Love letter by Kiara Govaert.
Emergency love letter.