Exhibition ‘WOOD(S)’: opening
Opening of 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.
Musical performance by Ecchoing Green: a musical interpretation of William Blake’s poetry
In 1789, the English poet and artist William Blake published ‘Songs of Innocence’, a collection of illustrated poems celebrating the world of childhood, purity, faith and harmony with nature. Through simple, musical language, Blake expressed an optimistic and luminous vision of existence.
Five years later, in 1794, he published ‘Songs of Experience’, which complements and transforms the first collection. This time, Blake depicts a world marked by injustice, suffering and the loss of innocence.
Blake thus presents “the two opposing states of the human soul”.
Ecchoing Green is a duo that sings these poems by William Blake. Two voices, one female and one male, are accompanied by a guembri (a North African percussive bass) and percussion. The music and melodies are original compositions. The two voices singing the poems rise with the guembri, which conveys the depth and beauty of the words through its deep, resonant tone and engages the body with its spellbinding, percussive rhythms.
A teaser:
Place: House of Compassion, Begijnhofplein, 1000 Brussel
Date & time: Wednesday 1 July at 6pm30
Entry: free
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