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".

Fransje Killaars

(c)image: A4A vzw.
NON STOP (Amsterdam), 2000
Installation
nylon, metal

In her installations, paintings and applied artworks, Dutch artist Fransje Killaars always plays with space, light and colour. This work is a combination of NON STOP (Innsbruck) from the Vleeshal Middelburg collection and NON STOP (Paris) from the Stedelijk Museum Schiedam collection. The two were merged into a new piece: NON STOP (Amsterdam). The thin nylon fabric makes the work look like a summer pavilion. Its exterior is determined by a vertical architecture of colour. Inside the pavilion visitors can lie down on berths with pillows and blankets, reminiscent of a train compartment, a reference to Killaars’s travels in colourful India and an invitation for visitors to engage each other in intimate conversation. The installation makes us feel sheltered from the outside world, although nothing more than a thin piece of fabric is shielding us from its impact.