The Experience of Hell Would Be Like Going Around a World’s Fair of National Humour
Koenraad Dedobbeleer
2023
Two offset prints on Araveal paper
30 x 40 cm
Edition of 50 numbered copies
Limited edition available here
The two posters that compose this edition are photographs of ancient twin doors spotted by the artist in Palermo, Sicily. Except for their subtle but distinct marks of aging, the two parts could be seen as perfectly symmetrical, as if they were mirroring one another. In fact, the form and the content of this diptych echo the structure of the venue where it was first exhibited: a noticeboard on the streets of Seoul, made of two connecting windows. For the limited edition conceived by the artist, this duality is further emphasized by an ingenious system that was fabricated using metal, wood and magnets — the latest example in Koenraad Dedobbeleer’s long-standing exploration of devices to display images. Here, the images do not just stand side by side; they face each other, thereby strongly situating the viewer as part of a triangular configuration. The sculpture tests our binocular vision and makes us aware of our physical relation to it. In this self-reflexive process, the gaze becomes a central subject of the work. Yet, the movement of the two posters as we pass by, or even as we breathe, reminds us of its inherent lightness and playfulness.
Koenraad Dedobbeleer’s work was shown at Mother Offline and Post Poetics's project space "Pop", in Seoul, from October 20 to 22, 2023.