Belgian uses local materials to present universal ideas
Belgian uses local materials to present universal ideas
Text and photos by R. Fadjri
YOGYAKARTA (JP): A journey often yields new ideas. Apart from
enriching our visual experience, our encounter with objects we
have never seen before may also lead to a spiritual experience. A
journey may also introduce us to things that are similar to our
past experiences, although they may take completely different
forms or shapes.
For an artist, a journey is more than just a physical
pleasure. It works as a creative impulse that leads to the
creation of new things.
And that is exactly what Frank Liefooghe, 52, has achieved.
This Belgian artist is now exhibiting his works at the Ardiyanto
Gallery in Yogyakarta.
Liefooghe, who prefers to refer to his works as "objects",
feels a certain wave of vibration when he sees indigenous objects
here, in Moscow, in Mexico, in China or anywhere he goes. During
his 30 years as an artist he has made at least 175 cultural trips
around the world. They are eventually recorded in paintings,
sculptures, objects, performances or happening arts which are
always displayed or performed while he is still in the place he
has visited.
Liefooghe came across objects in Indonesia that were
previously alien to him, but familiar in terms of concept. He saw
blek, the tin container used to store chips; he saw dusters made
of chicken feathers; and he saw besek, the bamboo food container.
All these became a new visual experience which he blended with a
phenomenon taking place in his home country. Thus Just like
Belgium was created.
This work consists of three blek painted in blue, each with a
round lid and a transparent glass side to reveal a heap of red,
yellow and black eggs.
Belgium, a former kingdom united by the glory of a king,
became a federal republic when the last king died. Just like
Belgium symbolizes the end of a unity that was replaced by
separate federal blocks. The color blue symbolizes hope for unity
(the egg) that will never be. A simple but effective metaphor.
Something starting out united but ending up as individual pieces
is an universal experience.
Simplicity through the use of minimum symbols also appears in
his World Fraternity First. This is a paradoxical depiction of
Europe today. On one hand, there is a movement for a united
economy through the European Community, but on the other hand
there is a stronger drive to maintain racial purity through the
neo-Nazi movement. The re-emergence of the fascist attitude among
certain European societies has led to the elimination of one
group by another.
This fascist attitude often surfaces in the form democracy
but, in practice, it is ethnic cleansing. Look at Bosnia, which
is still coming to terms with genocide which has annihilated
human values. Or the crushing of freedom in Chechnya by the very
person who is the symbol of democracy in Moscow.
Liefooghe records all this with five dusters arranged on the
wall. Each of the dusters is adorned with a woven bamboo triangle
painted in blue and symbolizes the hope for borderless
brotherhood.
Future
Frank Liefooghe's works are all heavily laden with current
problems, or a projection of future lives. Liefooghe is telling
his audience about today's reality and his dreams.
Uniform of a New Look, is a very futuristic depiction of the
impact of globalization on 21st century human beings. Uniform of
a New Look is a human-size statue made of cloth. It is draped in
white cloth and stands rigidly with a 11-meter long trunk, also
made of white cloth. The rounded trunk gets wider at the end and
on top are seven small funnels which continually emit colorful
fluids, leaving colorful marks on the trunk.
"This is the view of the 21st century people, which is highly
influenced (colored) by other people's views," explained
Liefooghe.
The statue speaks of an individual's helplessness against
outside influences. Is he trying to tell us of the nightmare that
comes with the fact that state borders have become more
transparent and the individual no longer has the power to remain
independent? Or is this a nightmare of the advanced technology
which only results in the elimination of the individual? There
are many interpretations for Liefooghe's 21st century man.
Liefooghe is obviously highly skilled in telling his stories.
Using symbols that are familiar to all, he cleverly uses local
materials to present his universal ideas. There is the giant egg
made of woven rattan and painted in blue. There is the besek
diagonally arranged on the wall and there is also the arrangement
of bamboo fans. All serve as easily recognized metaphors,
regardless of the viewer's nationality.
The only thing lacking in his exhibition is display
organization, which creates an impression that everything was
simply dumped into the room. Nothing divides one work from
another, causing the exhibition hall to look crowded.
However, one may also argue that the unusual arrangement
reflects the reality of jumbled state borders.
Frank Liefooghe's exhibition will last until Feb. 14.