To the bone

To the bone - Extra City, Antwerp
To the Bone reflects on the age-old duality of body and spirit. Inspired by the architectural setting of the former Dominican chapel, the two artists present an integral installation. Building on the symbolism of the Dominicans (Domini canis, the Lord’s dog) they immersed themselves in the metaphor of the powerful instinct of animality. The room-filling construction by Claude Cattelain (BE, 1972) references the Greek mythological figure of Sisyphus tirelessly pushing his boulder up the mountain. The structure made of recycled wood is covered with clay by the artist, who repeatedly scraped the material along the inclined plane. The work invites reflection on the limits of the body, its capacity to project itself into space and to initiate a dialogue with the invisible. The twelve surrounding sculptures by Jot Fau (BE, 1987) act as a bridge between intimate and collective stories. Often covered with fabric, these assemblages are comprised of various objects linked to the artist's personal history or those of her relatives. She renders them into unique compositions like small haikus. In doing so, Fau seeks to activate a forgotten memory and to create conditions that promote greater caring for the other. The meeting of these two bodies of work highlights an aesthetic based on remaining traces, as brought out by ritualised gestures. An ode to intuition and primitiveness that transcends the mind body dichotomy. To the Bone is not only a nod to the dog's characteristic attachment to its master, it also refers to the quest for essentiality that the two artists share. Curation and text: Septembre Tiberghien