The work of Goele De Bruyn often plays upon the line between the functional and the non-functional. The profusion of possibilities for re-uses formulates a potential new beginning. De Bruyn often makes use of cleaning materials such as mops, garbage bags, handkerchiefs or soap: absorbent materials that emphasize cleansing, removal and protection. The artist herself philosophically sketches these elements of the creative process as “mechanisms of consolation”.

During her residency in 2011, in Beijing, De Bruyn did a re-enactment of Les Mains Sales, 1998-2…., a work consisting of an arrangement of soap bar remnants collected over several years. The re-enactment resulted in a second collection of soap remnants. These remnants differed from the first collection, which had been passively assembled, due to the fact that the artist had actively sought them out. This occurred in the city of Beijing, where the language as well as the local customs where foreign to De Bruyn. The Chinese collection forms a living installation with social relevance, halfway between sculpture and performance.

Opening FR 11.10 2013 – 20:00