Middle Gate

    NLEN

    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".

    ORLAN

    Back
    (c)image: Luc Wauman
    MesuRAGE du Vatican Roma, 1974, 1974
    ORLAN
    Performance

    The first of ORLAN's MesuRAGEs. She was stopped by security guards and then pretended to be fulfilling a vow, crawling on her knees around the Vatican. Also called "Ceci n'est pas un voeu" [This is Not a Vow].

    For her first MeasuRAGE - an improvised, wildcat affair - ORLAN did not yet wear the dress-like smock that she later donned over her clothing, nor did she make white marks on the ground. The event was halted by security guards, forcing ORLAN to find a dodge to avoid further hassles with the Vatican. So she pretended to be fulfilling a vow by crawling on her knees, thus reassuring the security forces and temporarily interrupting the action, which over the next decade would be repeated in various forms.

    Back