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".

GEWELD | VIOLENCE

(c)image: M HKA
Duwen, 1994
Photography , 125 x 294 cm
colour photograph

Duwen [Push] shows huge refrigerated counter full of pre-packaged meat. The viewer sees the case from the top. A person's hand presses into the plastic foil wrapped around one of the meat packages. This bizarre perspective, combined with the packages of raw meat, regimented in orderly rows according to the type of meat, and the rusty shades of the tiled floor turn this photograph into a piece that could almost be called abstract. Duwen highlights the bizarre act of “pushing” to an even greater extent through the tight, geometric background that dominates the piece. The only glimpse the viewer has of the character is an arm, a lock of hair, a shoulder strap and a shoe. The space Duwen occupies is in itself a kind of vacuum: there is no plot and there is no rhyme or reason to the story.