Breaking Barriers - 14 Variations

Upon stepping into the exhibition space at Giftshop Gent for the first time, I was immediately overwhelmed by a flood of sensations and impressions. There's an undeniable vibrancy to the environment, from the bustling energy of the graffiti-covered street to the architectural intricacies of the building itself. Introducing another layer to this already rich tapestry would feel excessive. Instead, I propose to celebrate and showcase the inherent richness of this space, embracing the concept of 'genus locui' – the spirit of a place – to highlight the omnipresent beauty that surrounds us in our everyday lives. The fences adorning the building's windows immediately captured my attention as compelling visual elements, artworks in their own right. They embody the profound beauty of urban complexity, a laissez-faire attitude, and the organic interaction of the street and its users. My proposal is to detach these fences and exhibit them as autonomous works. This proposal has two facets: first, by removing them from their context and presenting them as autonomous works, I aim to emphasize the often overlooked everyday beauty that can be found everywhere. Secondly, loosening the fences serves as a strong metaphor for urban politics, symbolizing the dismantling of barriers to unlock and open latent yet profoundly useful spaces, mirroring the opening of the GIFTSHOP.