Philip Huyghe, 'Dubbel-Woonst'
exhibition reception
Richard Foncke Galerie, Ghent
2003 ©, Copyright, Jan Mast
Babushkoid Hibernatorium
Chained bible, tugs hard at tether, almost pulling down library walls. Pressed leaf-skeleton bookmark saves place reached in story so far. Guidelines offered by words and pictures and favourable atmosphere encourage eager antennæ feelers and inquisitive roots, which dig deep, twisted around, gaining foothold in page. Overnight, seemingly already established woodland rises up, flourishing.
Lost in peaceful forest clearing, cast-iron solid-rock human head idly rests. Dreamer, conjuring up visions of fresh meat flowers, raw flesh petals, leather buds, skin foliage and vertebræ stems and stalks. Without even trying, master toy-making, puppeteering and floristry skills breathe real life into these creations. By opportunism and stealth, sundew, venus-fly-trap and pitcher-plant salad takes over, replacing their originator. Thereafter, all rights and duties of power and privilege are duly handed over to them instead.
Going under acupuncture treatment, saline and sucrose medicated confectionery floral-tribute corsage sweats out fever, in steam-bath and sauna; ammonia induced teardrops wept; bloodletting using leeches. Necklace and abacus beads, teeth and larvæ add up, join and clot. Syrupy protective enveloping film solution inflates, until a bivouac cocoon sac, tailoring astronaut’s deep-sea-diving suit-of-armour, as worn by dragonfly hung up to dry out, inside amber-resin marsupial-pouch, during waiting-list to get deemed fully-fledged and granted freedom to be ready to take wing.
This kidney pearl curls up in stately four-poster-bed banqueting table. Secure position further assisted by chassis of training calipers, corrective braces, workbench clamps and vices; all bound up with ribbons, tied in bows, bearing royal seals. Home-improvement and makeover regime is awarded. Ventriloquist ectoplasm, served up on platter dish, reflecting in oval mirror, scoops out finest porcelain alabaster soup-tureen punchbowl base, while soap-bubble glassblowing crystal lenticular dome window lid wears hula-hoop planet outer ring halo belt. Bathtub jelly-mould cameo-locket toy-town snowstorm-paperweight candy-jar bottle-garden attains animate and organic status, coming alive.
Watertight submersible bivalve clam motor-launch galleon sets sail.
©, Copyright, Douglas Park, 2003
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