Middle Gate

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".

Hüseyin Bahri Alptekin

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Artist in depression , 1996

Hüseyin Bahri Alptekin

Installation

Room installation; divan, boxing gloves, clothing paravane, stool, counterfeit soccer ball, coat hanger, coat, wooden massage ball

Alptekin was always thinking about the relations between banality, boredom and depression in the modern world. From his own experiences, the artist believed that resignation to depression was superior to struggling with it. Rather, the mental space of depression was for him an alternative form of reality and wisdom, and was the source of inspiration for much of his practice. He created numerous installations about depression, each including the central presence of the psychoanalyst’s divan used for diagnosing patients. The first of these was Artist in Depression, which is a simple, rather clinical setting with a hospital screen and other curious objects such as boxing gloves and a massage roller.

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