Middle Gate

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    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".

    Guillaume Bijl

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    (c)image: Syb'l S'Pictures
    TV-Quiz decor [TV Quiz Show Decor], 1993
    Guillaume Bijl
    Installation , 1300 x 900 x 400 cm
    mixed media

    *“I show my time. I make décors in a way that for a moment reality too may be seen as décor. We live in a décor, and I make people aware of that.”* *TV-Quiz Decor* from 1993 is a perfect illustration of Bijl’s worldview where, stimulated by advertising and the media, a shift occurs from reality to fiction and then back again. We see a minutely detailed reconstruction of a TV studio, complete with podium and flickering lights on the steps, two desks with score panels, cameras and a grand prize in the form of a shiny red car. All this in a darkened space, ready for showtime. *TV-Quiz Decor* straddles the interface between culture and commerce. Does a museum room stop being such when it’s transformed this way into a TV studio? With the text displayed on the giant monitor, 'Le Jeu de l'Art', Bijl makes literal reference to the current art scene, which according to him is evermore becoming a show tent.

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