Groepement
My participation in the group show Groepement, at Otty Park Gallery (Antwerp) consisted of two pieces: the mural The Writing Is on the Wall, and the sculpture Metoposcopy.

The group exhibition Groepement shows work by Jelle Spruyt, Eva De Leener, David Maroto, Adrien Tirtiaux, Els Dietvorst, Yannick Ganseman, Maika Garnica, and Benny Van den Meulengracht-Vrancx. Artists with a diverse practice associated with the gallery, a fascinating insight into their work and Otty Park.


Metoposcopy. Unbaked clay, 26x21x10 cm.
Reading the pattern of forehead wrinkles and the length, depth, and prominence of the lines combined with astrological interpretations, help make predictions about a person's destiny.

The Writing Is on the Wall
ABRACADABRA. We are used to hear it as a magic formula, but its origin is uncertain. In the second century AC, the Gnostics were a flourishing Christian sect – the first one to be considered heretic as well. Roman physician, Quintus Serenus Sammonicus (follower of Gnosticism) advised to inscribe ABRACADABRA in amulets as an incantation to be read out loud in order to spell malaria. It was read line by line, so that the diminishing length of the word corresponded with the process of the receding illness. ABRACADABRA means something like ‘I create as a I speak’. Indeed, the whole point of the incantation is that it must be read aloud. Silent reading is a relatively recent invention, the first written texts were a string of signs that conveyed sounds to be produced orally. Today, we relate reading to a solitary activity that is done in silence and isolation. Reading out loud implies shared reading, and the writing is on the wall for everyone to see.

Credits for photos 2 & 3: Sepp Van Dun.