Camp
Mixed Media
250 x 300 x 420 cm
2021
Content
Ives Maes presents the start of a new series of works in Watou, which he has based on the archetype of the camera obscura pavilion. This architectural space was built solely to make a natural phenomenon visible. A dark room is constructed that draws in an image from the surrounding world through a small opening and inversely projects it onto an opposite wall. This phenomenon formed the basis of the invention of photography and, due to its delayed and arresting process, stands in stark contrast to the speed at which images disappear in mobile phones today. During visits to Watou, Ives Maes became fascinated by a specific place in the Brenne Park. A circular stack of stones suggests a campfire. A mast, houses, and a green environment determine the rear plan in the image. The projected image in the camera obscura was registered on a light-sensitive emulsion, making the photo an architectural part of the pavilion. The shot was in black and white and the painted with oil paint. This gives rise to questions about the identity of the image. Is it a photo or a painting? Ives Maes focuses on looking at the world and the surrounding landscape with this work. Call it a contemplative documentation. Mankind is only present by what he places in this environment. There is no commentary, but there is an ambiguity when it comes to the meaning of formation and interpretation. Maes thus reflects on contradictory readings of images of paradise as a place of pleasure, or as a refuge. An unambiguous interpretation of the images implies limitations. This camera obscura pavilion is a temporary and mobile structure that, due to the use of colour, the steel construction and corrugated roofing, is an architectural wink to Jean Prouvé’s cabins, as well as to the many refugee camps around the world. Because of these connotations, it also refers to former research by Ives Maes in the series Recyclable Refugee Camp and The Future of Yesterday.
Text by Benedicte Goesaert and Chantal Pattyn published in “Watou 2021 / Kunst”, HART, 2021.
EXHIBITION
Watou 2021
Kunstenfestival Watou, Watou, Belgium
03/07/21 – 05/09/21
Curated by Chantal Pattyn and Benedicte Goesaert
Carla Arocha & Stéphane Schraenen, Bart Lodewijks & Jan Kempenaers, Gijs Van Vaerenbergh, Esther Kläs & Gustavo Gomes, Sarah & Charles, Leyla Aydoslu, Blauwhaus, Melanie Bonajo, Peter Buggenhout, N. Dash, Michael Dean, Lieven De Boeck, Ella de Burca, Anouk De Clercq, Edith Dekyndt, Bram Demunter, Tracey Emin, Bendt Eyckermans, Mekhitar Garabedian, Nadia Guerroui, Margaret Lee, Ariane Loze, Ives Maes, Mark Manders, Neo Matloga, Vincent Meessen, Lucy Skaer, Socle, Joris Van de Moortel, Catharina van Eetvelde, Luca Vanello, Johan van Geluwe, Eva Vermandel, Leon Vranken, Zhang Yunyao
Installation view by Lars Duchateau
Forbidden Fruit Create Many Jams
Sofie Van De Velde Gallery, Antwerp, Belgium
26/11/2022 – 08/01/2023
Solo exhibition
Installation view by Joost Joossen & Ives Maes