SWAN SONG — Virtual Escape
Alexey Shlyk & Ben Van den Berghe

Ancient belief has it that before swans pass away, they belt out a final graceful chant. But do they sing their most beautiful song out of sorrow for what has been, or solace for what has yet to come?
‘Swan Song’ is the first installment of Shlyk’s and Van den Berghe’s ongoing research project ‘Virtual Escape’. It explores the disturbing impact of image technology on the necessity of human physical presence, thereby raising questions about the status of the constructed, idealized image that lasts eternally. Consisting of photographic works and a four-channel soundscape, the installation takes over the exhibition space, immersing viewers in an unsettling atmosphere of vanity, of the passing show of life.

Since 2016, Alexey Shlyk (b. 1986, BLR) and Ben Van den Berghe (b. 1985, BE) developed a collaborative artistic practice that examines the transformative ability of photography as optical architecture. Their projects mostly have taken on the form of large-scale, site-specific installations. Their works have been presented at amongst others El Quinto Piso, Mexico City (2018), Art Brussels (2018), Untitled Miami (2018), CCHA, Hasselt (2019) and Texture, Kortrijk (2021).

FINISSAGE
Fri, 25 June 2021 // 14h – 21h
(part of Borger Nocturne from 18h)

Artists: Alexey Shlyk, Ben Van den Berghe