Waiting for my man

Three years after her impressive solo at Argos, Antwerp-based artist Ria Pacquée is coming back to Brussels. As part of the Summer of Photography, which is focusing on gender, a limited selection of her work is being exhibited in the C-Box of the Centrale for Contemporary Art, beside work by Emmeline de Mooij. Though the artists are not of the same generation, there are common interests in their work. Pacquée debuted in the 1970s and was/is an active practitioner of performance art in Belgium. Some of her performances will also be shown here in photos. For example, there is a photo of the artist on a street in Antwerp with a little sign reading: “Waiting for my man who lost the War”. Though the work dates from the 1980s, it exudes the atmosphere of the turbulent 1960s. In a series of black-and-white photos, the artist assumes the form of a sexless being, It. In a more recent video, we see her breathing audibly with various layers of clothes over her head. Textiles and gender are also central themes in the works of Emmeline de Mooij. She is presenting a large wall installation. In addition to articles of clothing and materials in bright colours, there are photos of hygiene products, a role of toilet paper, and disinfectant. The artist will not only activate these objects during a performance (on 10 September), but the audience will also be invited to try out some of the items. There is a more convincing work that consists of a patchwork quilt, including one flesh-coloured one, and a photo of a naked woman. This is an interesting extension of the medium of photography. Both artists regularly combine various media in unusual ways. Though the confrontation between the two ladies is certainly original, the individual works are not always very compelling. This is not an exhibition worth getting wildly enthusiastic about, but it makes for a nice outing.

RIA PACQUÉE & EMMELINE DE MOOIJ > 28/9, di/ma/Tu > zo/di/Su 10.30 > 18.00, Centrale for Contemporary Art - C-Box, Sint-Katelijneplein 44 place Sainte-Catherine, Brussel/Bruxelles, 02-279.64.52, www.centrale-art.be