HISK laureates 2021 exhibition ‘Various Positions’: Book launch and re-opening

The exhibition ‘Various Positions’, whose title is borrowed from Leonard Cohen’s homonymous album, brings together the artistic practices of the second-year candidate laureates at HISK. The red thread to their work is that they each create their own universe in an idiosyncratic manner. Hence, instead of imposing a far-fetched theme that tries to unite eleven totally different practices, each candidate is given the opportunity to express their artistic position to the full. While some adhere to a classic studio practice, others engage with the outside world. This to-and-fro movement from studio to the outside world can be correlated to two different ways of defining the self: one is the belief that the true self is hidden deep within each person. This is the so-called vertical, romantic worldview, whose philosophy of authenticity reveals a strong Platonic and Christian dimension. Conversely, according to the horizontal worldview, the self is not fixed, but in flux, constantly developing through interactions and encounters with others. This postmodernist viewpoint is suspicious of the idea of a fixed self.

Should one apply these concepts to the residency at the HISK, it would be clear that here, the vertical worldview is best reflected in the romantic vision of the studio where artists can explore their true, inner self, focusing on the production of their work in solitary [removed];
The horizontal worldview could be linked to the many encounters experienced by the candidate laureates during their residency: conversations with fellow artists dropping by, invited guest lecturers providing feedback, and exchanges with the general public during the Open Studios and the Laureates Exhibition.

Shifting from the vertical to the horizontal worldview, the artists’ practices range from painterly, sculptural, photographic, or cinematographic quests to different ways of engaging with social or economic structures within our society. The artists all approach their subjects in distinctive ways; through the investigation of family histories—in a dreamlike installation evoking long-gone memories or through research as what lies behind stories of exile—or the exploration, for example, of Belgium’s linguistic situation, the country’s economic interests in its former colony, or through poetic reflections on our global economy. Although each artist occupies their own distinct position—both within the institute and inside their clearly defined zone in the exhibition—the scenography suggests diverse perspectives and vantage points, creating a network of links between each individual “island”, combining the vertical worldview of the true self in the studio with the horizontal worldview reflecting the encounter with others.

Participating artists: Dries Boutsen (BE), Nelleke Cloosterman (BE), Dani Ghercă (RO),  Olivia Hernaïz (BE), Karel Koplimets (EE), Nokukhanya Langa (US/ZA), Gaëlle Leenhardt (FR), Sandrine Morgante (BE/IT), Hadassa Ngamba (CD), Elisa Pinto (MX), Paulius Šliaupa (LT)