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".

    WAANZIN | MADNESS

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    ©Taus Makhacheva. Photo: M HKA
    Landscape, 2013
    Taus Makhacheva
    Installation
    series of wooden objects, carved by Kazbek Alikhov

    The work is a collection (in progress) of wooden objects representing human noses, modelled after North Caucasian faces. In Caucasus there are several legends referring to men losing their noses. In order to find them again, and thereby to prove their manliness, they set off on adventurous journeys. In the Avar language, for instance, the word merlep means ‘mountain’ as well as ‘nose’. The highlanders’ identification with their mountains and peaks is also deeply rooted in the region. Landscape does not only ‘tell’ interesting facts about the bond between the Caucasian people and their homeland, but hints at the stereotypes and clichéd images that often influ­ence our knowledge of countries and their inhabitants. (Ilina Koralova)

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