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| Colors of Shade, permanent installation, April 2019, Brussels |
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COLORS OF SHADE (2019)
by David Helbich Inauguration : 6 Juni 2019, 16.30
Nieuwlandstraat / Rue Terre-Neuve 194, 1000 Brussels
Colors of Shade features 18 coloured Perspex sheets that were af xed to the facade of the Nieuwland site in April 2019. To the back of the sheets magnets are stuck that are strong enough to attract iron particles in the air, slowly but surely revealing the collages David Helbich created with the children attending after-school care at De Buiteling.
more info under the images
COLORS OF SHADE features 18 coloured Perspex sheets that were affixed to
the facade of the Nieuwland site in April 2019. Behind the coloured surface
lies an aspect of the work that only becomes apparent a few weeks on: ferrite
magnets stuck to the back of the sheets that are strong enough to attract iron
particles in the air, slowly but surely revealing the collages Helbich created
with the children attending after-school care at De Buiteling.
Iron particles are more prevalent in areas where there are lots of cars, trains and industry and are inhaled by man and animals alike. They may be invisible but, in a speci c density, they manifest themselves as a dark grey substance, like on the coloured surface of this work.
Starting point for the collages was “the landscape”. Each child interpreted the landscape in its own speci c way: from realistic to surrealistic, from below water to the Earth’s surface, all the way up to the sky. All these landscapes were inte- grated into one whole.
Unlike the design of for example national ags, the order of the colours was chosen so as to prevent any identitarian interpretation. The manner in which the sheets are arranged is reminiscent of a sound level metre or other parameters, thereby raising the question whether art can be a tool to measure our relation- ship with the world.
The title Colors of Shade is a take on the complexity of current-day life where individual relief and entertainment all too often come at the expense of collective and ecological interests.
The work of art simultaneously broaches various issues that affect the site and its neighbourhood: aside from embellishing a hidden public space, it highlights concerns for the air quality and the diversity of Brussels society. Lastly, it focuses on the invisible and on how we experience it.
Colors of Shade forms part of a series of works David Helbich has been creating together with partners of the Nieuwland site at the behest of the VGC since 2018. In line with Helbich’s diverse repertoire as an artist, composer and photographer, more works of art on the context of the Nieuwland site and its surroundings will go on display until September 2019.
Iron particles are more prevalent in areas where there are lots of cars, trains and industry and are inhaled by man and animals alike. They may be invisible but, in a speci c density, they manifest themselves as a dark grey substance, like on the coloured surface of this work.
Starting point for the collages was “the landscape”. Each child interpreted the landscape in its own speci c way: from realistic to surrealistic, from below water to the Earth’s surface, all the way up to the sky. All these landscapes were inte- grated into one whole.
Unlike the design of for example national ags, the order of the colours was chosen so as to prevent any identitarian interpretation. The manner in which the sheets are arranged is reminiscent of a sound level metre or other parameters, thereby raising the question whether art can be a tool to measure our relation- ship with the world.
The title Colors of Shade is a take on the complexity of current-day life where individual relief and entertainment all too often come at the expense of collective and ecological interests.
The work of art simultaneously broaches various issues that affect the site and its neighbourhood: aside from embellishing a hidden public space, it highlights concerns for the air quality and the diversity of Brussels society. Lastly, it focuses on the invisible and on how we experience it.
Colors of Shade forms part of a series of works David Helbich has been creating together with partners of the Nieuwland site at the behest of the VGC since 2018. In line with Helbich’s diverse repertoire as an artist, composer and photographer, more works of art on the context of the Nieuwland site and its surroundings will go on display until September 2019.
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The work is a sibling of my work from 2012 "What people say", the blue letters at the outside of the Beursschouwburg, Brussels.
Thanks to Joanneke Jouwsma, Ludo De Vleesschauwer, Els de Greef, Jo van Bostraeten and the kids of @De Buiteling!
Kunst In Opdracht - Nieuwlandsite
www.bredeschoolnieuwland.be
www.vgc.be
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| right after installation, April 2019 |
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| translation of the cardboard collages with magnets |
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| view from Avenue de Stalingradlaan |
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| the collages of De Buiteling, naascholse opvang Nieuwlandsite |
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| the collages of De Buiteling, naascholse opvang Nieuwlandsite |
