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".

    Jan Cox

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    ©Courtesy Adriaan Raemdonck
    Orpheus Returning from Hades, Boston, 1972
    Jan Cox
    Painting , 300 x 127 cm
    acrylic on canvas

    “The roots of our civilisation are with the Greek and therefore I am glad that I had a Greek-Latin education. To deny or demolish the bonds always seemed like suicide to me. 'I do not consider tradition a form of stagnant convention, on the contrary, it is the source of energy and progress. Our civilization has been built upon a chain of heritages, if we don’t recognize their value anymore we may still exist as a power but not as a civilization. This in answer to those who don’t understand my love for ancient myths.'”[1]

    – Jan Cox

    [1] Marijke Van Eeckhaut in: Jan Cox. Living One’s Art, Stichting Kunstboek, Group Van Damme, Oostkamp, 2008, p.222

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