Exhibitions

"Combiticket" by Karl Philips

Dauwens & Beernaert Gallery is pleased to present “Combi Ticket” Karl Philips’s first solo exhibition at the gallery.

About “Combi - Ticket"

Most major music festivals are built with the same mobile architectural elements: the typical metal fencing, mobile sanitary facilities, trucks, flight cases, light poles, dining and sleeping tents, etc. In terms of form, they closely resemble a type of non-recreational temporary demarcation such as army camps, refugee camps (and since 2021 also COVID testing and vaccination sites). Other similarities can also be found in the hierarchical organizational structure and strict access control. This blurring of forms and functions is essential in Philips’ oeuvre. One can also question the significance of these kinds of youth festivals as a ritual and how they relate to our daily lives. Pop festivals become increasingly popular, and therefore gain economic interest.

The central sculpture, “Combi - Ticket”, is an  installation carried out in actual size, with real objects. It shows a composition of a flooded camping tent next to a power generator, bathing in the cold light of a lamppost. This highly sensory and desolate image creates confusion between a festival site and a refugee camp.

The fences ar the “Heras I” and “Heras II” scale models portraying  a broken down fence due to a storm or a breach.

At the left wall,  a serie of "Jump for Joy” drawings are exposed. These drawings are based on YouTube video stills of people trying to enter festivals by trespassing.

 

Text: Wim Van der Celen