Exhibition WOOD(S)
The exhibition WOOD(S)
This summer, House of Compassion is organising its first themed exhibition on ‘WOOD’, curated by Kristof Degrauwe and Mathieu Peters. Do we still pause to consider the place wood occupies in our contemporary lifestyle? In this digital age, WOOD(S) aims to bring this ancient material – through which humans give shape to their ideas – back to the forefront. In an era of mass deforestation, WOOD(S) seeks to highlight the connection between humans and wood. The exhibition thus reminds us of our interbeing: the profound awareness, and the beauty that flows from it, of our interconnectedness with one another and with the living world, and invites visitors to reflect on their relationship with trees, forests and the earth. More than 20 artists engage in a dialogue with wood. On the fringes of the exhibition, musical improvisations on wooden instruments can also be heard, every day at 4 pm.
Curators: Kristof Degrauwe & Mathieu Peters. Artistes: Adamantidis Philippe, Appeldoorn Nikki, Boode Mark, Cattoor Erwin, De Schepper Simon, De Buysscher Octavia, Degrauwe Kristof, Dewaeghenaere Lena, Maisuradze Dimitri & Nikoloz, Guiliet Omer, Jacquemyn Peter, Mampuya Guilherme, Manetti Sauro, Remke Jorrit, Peters Mathieu, Rijs Xavier & Thibaut, Smet Mieke, TShibangu Bally, Van Hende Lou, Vaneycken Andrea en Verbist Janne. Production: Lore Janssens, House of Compassion. Technical assistance: Lou Van Hende.
Why wood as a theme?
WOOD(S) invites you to look at wood with a discerning eye. Wood is a living material with grains, colours and scents. Both classical sculptures and wood that has been transformed into modular objects each evoke their own universe. Wood, fragmented, bent, polished, burnt. Wood speaks in all its forms. Wood mediates between nature and culture. Wood recalls the forest, recalls the maker and the process.
Wood is a biogenic material. Trees soak up CO2, absorb light and convert it into vegetation. Trees come from the sky!
Trees are a symbol of life and grow slowly! A connection between earth and sky. That is why at the heart of WOOD(S) stands an olive tree surrounded by 20 chairs made from trunks and branches of the Sonian Forest.
WOOD(S) also offers a sensory trail, where your bare feet engage in a dialogue with surfaces from the forest. Wood contains an archive of traces of forests, workplaces, rituals and time itself! Wood accepts time: it can crack, age and develop a patina.
As you walk through this exhibition, you walk through textures of patience – through forms created by both growth and creation. In every surface lies a tension between durability and decay, between the refined and the wild.
At the same time, we must address questions regarding the origin of tropical hardwood, the management of forests as essential ecosystems, and the inventive reuse of the material. An ethical choice to work slowly, harvest carefully and use thoughtfully is imperative.
People love wood. It offers shelter, warmth, a tactile experience, acoustic comfort and richness in interiors. But beauty arises not only from form, but also from a balanced relationship between people, nature and the landscape. WOOD(S) touches on all these facets without explaining… visitors will make all these connections for themselves. WOOD(S) is an invitation!
Practical information
Location: House of Compassion, Begijnhofplein, 1000 Brussels
Dates: 1 July to 30 August.
Opening days and times: Tuesday–Saturday 11am–5pm / Sunday 2pm–5pm / Closed on Mondays
Entry: free.
