“ The sublimation of the subtext”
sculpture/installation
2019
maquette version circa 60x50x47
1:1 version 250x160x100
"the sublimation of the subtext" starts from the fascination for naming houses and villas in Belgium. The names are forged in iron and hung on the front facade. The names such as: "summer breeze", "my dream", ... show that the owners of these houses give a utopian load to their home place. The name of the house is often in the extension of the facade given of the house his first impression. How do you want to come across to the other person, what image do you give to the outside world? The resident sublimates his exterior image and does not name the doubt and difficult moments in life. Vansteenkiste consciously chooses a deconstruction of an outside façade and places new house names.
He searched the names in the context of Freud, Nietzsche, words that have ambiguity. This means that these houses can also evolve in a subtext from a safe place to a place in crisis, just as in reality.
"Uncanny", "Detached", "folly", "dwelling", "unsettled", "unheimlich" are a few of Vansteenkiste's home names that make us think about this situation. in this way naming a house with a charming and elegant forged iron name is a source of reflection on the complex / layered experience of a home.
