Composition for flora, objects and bodies
Fascinated by the systems of classification and the decor of artificialised nature through which people move in a predefined direction, I observed extensively in the Meise botanic garden.
A projection on each side of a wall in dialogue with objects scattered around the space makes the viewer navigate in a certain way, leading to a doubling or echo with the movements in the video. In a space where everything seems to be staged and controlled, the viewer becomes part of a choreography of watching and being watched.
Commission for Artefact 2020: Alone Together
Curated by Karen Verschooren
13.02.20 – 01.03.20
STUK, Leuven (BE)
Two channel video projection on wall
front: 22’, back: 11’
Objects (plaster, wood, foam, marble)
For Composition for Flora, Objects and Bodies Chloé Op de Beeck observed and filmed extensively in the botanic garden of Meise. The film sequences show people admiring, pointing and commenting on the plants while they stroll through the garden. But if you watch patiently and carefully – much like Op de Beeck has done herself – the relationship seems to be turning around: as if the plants are observing the visitors, putting on their own show.
Karen Verschooren