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".

    Els Dietvorst

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    ©Courtesy of the Artist - Photo: Orla Barry
    Mandrake, Manhole, Bunker, Trou, 1998-2019
    Els Dietvorst
    Drawing , in situ
    red-black ink on the wall

    In 1998, Els Dietvorst presents a pen drawing at the exhibition Mandrake, Manhole, Bunker, Trou, that unfolds on the walls of Brussels bar De Dolle Mol. For *Dooltocht/A desperate quest to find a base for hope, a new version will be realised in the M HKA. The wall drawing is reminiscent of ancient rock paintings; in it, people, trees and earth seem to be intertwined. The mandragora from the title is a plant that, allegedly, was already described on Assyrian clay tablets in the 15th century BC; in ancient times, magical powers were attributed to its root. But the work might just as well be a vision of the future. Dietvorst advocates a more cyclical approach to the concept of time, in which present, past and future are interconnected.

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