The inaugural edition for Hold the Space presents brand-new work by Brussels-based visual artist Yemo Park, a 2024 resident of the Frans Masereel Centrum. Known for her sculptural objects and multimedia installations, Park’s work examines artistic autonomy, unconscious productivity, and self-perpetuation through the establishment of fictitious businesses.

For Hold the Space, Park presents Breadwinning, an evocative installation inspired by children’s ball maze games and the poignant image of pigeons entangled in discarded bread. This unintentional harm pigeons inflict on themselves as they cannot remove the necklaces on their own, depending instead on natural elements like rain to free them, forms the core of the work. The piece is rooted in a photograph Park took in 2015 of such a pigeon, which became a personal symbol for her, recalling her grandmother’s struggle with Parkinson’s and the inability to fully inhabit her own body.

The installation begins with the pigeon photograph, which forms the backdrop of the display case. In the foreground, Park crafted a sculptural panel featuring a maze-like structure: pieces of bread with holes invite interaction, while a small pigeon figure moves through the maze, inevitably falling into the holes. This interactive element mirrors the cycle of entrapment and struggle. Above the display, a branch is placed as a symbol of fleeting relief, a moment of rest before falling back into the relentless cycle of life.

As part of the edition, Park also created a unique clock. Each clock features a pigeon as the hour hand and bread as the minute hand, with a pointer for the seconds. Once a day, the pigeon’s head appears to be stuck in the bread, only to slowly free itself as time progresses. Every edition of the clock is distinct, each showcasing a different pigeon and a different sort of bread.

Find the edition here in our bookshop.

Artists: Yemo Park