before the exhibition
during the exhibition
SWITCH
in SWITCH Kris Van Dessel takes another step further in the systematic reduction of the physicality of the work. By substituting the gallery lightings for those of his workshop and vice versa, he sets up an open structure that renders possible a kind of swapping between levels of reality. It seems neither that the fixtures, nor the light is carrying the thought under investigation. Maybe it is the entropic condition comprised in this event that intensifies the peculiar (un)reality of this new state. Although some scars of the original (light) situation are visible, the almost abstraction of the tangible introduces discomfort and possibly provokes solipsistic conceptions. The generous act of Van Dessel to share the intimacy of his workplace with the viewer is a complex and challenging one. There is no potential for narrative or visual clues the viewer can rely on to comprehend the work as in the Bruce Nauman video installation Mapping The Studio I. The viewer is thrown back onto his own foresight and imagination (Sylvie Vandenhoucke) / 2013.