Middle Gate

    NLEN

    The exhibition project Middle Gate II – The Story of Dymphna is a collaboration between M HKA (Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp) and the cultural centre de Werft in Geel. Middle Gate II is the follow up to the exhibition Middle Gate, curated by Jan Hoet in Geel in 2013. The exhibition concept is closely tied to the legend of the holy Dymphna, saint of the possessed, the mentally ill and patroness against epilepsy and insanity. The legend of Dymphna shares a strong connection to the identity of Geel, "the charitable city".

    Anne Daems

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    °1966
    Born in Lier, BE
    Lives in Brussels, BE
    Works in Brussels, BE

    Anne Daems (°1966) studies photography at the Saint-Lukas Institute in Brussels, followed by a course at the Rijksacademie in Amsterdam. The hidden layers in our daily lives are the focus of her photographic work.

    Daems creates urban snapshots of life on the streets: people on sidewalks, in the underground, underneath piers, in traffic or obscured by the reflection of a shop window. Upon closer inspection these seemingly ordinary images are delicate, not just because they question voyeurism, beauty or individuality, but mostly because of the way in which anonymous and unknown persons are noticed – or not – and classified. Each image is a careful composition, concealing a surprise. Nothing is as it seems. There is always another element, another truth hidden within.

    Anne Daems is always looking for what usually remains out of sight. In images that appear empty and without seeking out drama or spectacle, she portrays a generation, a city or an entire zeitgeist. Her photographs show how the commonplace is interwoven with the sublime, which points to an extensive empathic curiosity.

    Items

    Zonder titel (Vrouw aan bushalte), 1996

    Anne Daems
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