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".

    Róza El-Hassan

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    (c)image: M HKA
    Breeze 9 (Natural Air Conditioning and Adobe Houses), 2015
    Róza El-Hassan
    Installation , variable dimensions
    prototypes for temporary housing, made of sun-dried adobe bricks

    Róza El-Hassan proposes a solution to the housing problem caused by the large number of refugees within Syria and in neighbouring countries: build shelters using the cheapest local material (adobe bricks) in the shape of the traditional ‘beehive’ houses of northern Syria. The domed constructions do not need to be insulated in winter and keep cool in summer. Another model for a simple dwelling is the one-room adobe ‘cube’ common in the Egyptian countryside. These two structures will be erected in the exhibition, as a sculptural installation (and a large painting, because they will also be adorned with a representation of the starry sky) but also as functional prototypes for emergency housing that can be mass-produced with support from the NGO sector.

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