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".

Els Dietvorst

(c)Els Dietvorst
The Rabbit and the Teasel , 2014
Video , 00:52:40
digital file

Two years after settling in Ireland, Els Dietvorst started work on the web documentary The Black Lamb. Over a three-year period, she recorded fragments of her new environment, and that of local figures. The short testimonies of TJ Butler in The Black Lamb lay the foundation for a bigger project: The Rabbit and the Teasel. In this full-length film, Dietvorst transforms Butler's narrative into a modern rural drama, in which the raw reality of a rainy year drives the farmer to despair.

Els Dietvorst appeals to the collective memory of the local community. Her fellow villagers tell their stories, film and act. Fiction and autobiographical elements are interwoven into a lyrical tale that drags the viewer into a world of beauty, death and decay.

Written and directed by Els Dietvorst

www.therabbitandtheteasel.com