studio job: alter ego

studio job: alter ego gaasbeek castle, belgium april 25th to june 1st, 2010

the spring 2010 exhibition of the dutch-belgian studio job (job smeets and nynke tyngel) ‘alter ego’ is held within gaasbeek castle, belgium. for the last few years, the castle has been developing an exhibition policy that creatively addresses notions of heritage which is a prominent theme within the practice of the duo.

installation of ‘robber baron cabinet’ image by r. kot

a little bit of history… as soon as the marquise arconati visconti had arrived at gaasbeek castle, she changed identities. here, she imagined herself as a medieval page, often being portrayed in paintings posing in the fancy dress of pages. together with the countless objects that she collected, the dream castle restored by her neo-style, served as a décor and context for her ‘alter ego’…

‘perished bench’image by r. kot

studio job creates ‘alter egos’, sculptures which draw on the icons of northern european (art) history, with a contemporary twist. discontent with modernism, they have returned to the pre-industrial era. considering themselves ‘design criminals’, opposing all that modernism stands for, they experiment with lost techniques and materials, deliberately distancing themselves from the dictatorial numbers game by producing unique pieces or very limited editions.

installation viewimage by r. kot

the historical aspect of their work is only one component. the duo also seeks to communicate the present – here and now – by using culture as a humus, cultivating it with irony or putting things into perspective by means of extravagance. thus the icons and archetypes which they create, provide new, contemporary interpretations of familiar pieces. their designs become meta-objects: artefacts whereby the object prevails over its function, and that through metaphors and symbols, give the viewer, a story depicting the future of the present, by means of the past.

installation view of the exhibition image by r. kot

up close of cabinet image by r. kot

image by r. kot

job and nynke describe their entire oeuvre as a huge three-dimensional diary. drawing on the influence of castles and cathedrals, each piece of their art has a place in a collection that forms part of a larger whole… essentially a work in progress. their own ‘universe’ or ‘wonder and horror land’, a castle (as the metaphor of an imaginary society) has been given the leading role.

this is why gaasbeek castle is a fitting location for this exhibition. bringing together older and more recent works, ‘alter ego’ enters into a dialogue with castle’s historical decor, and interact with each other in surprising and fresh confrontations.

image © k. vrancken

the exhibition has been organized by gaasbeek castle together with studio job.