MEDIA DIGITAL ART AND CULTURE IN FLANDERS BELGIUM - BAM

e situated on the borderline between the two. After her studies in film directing
De Clercq made a few attempts at experimental films, after which she has been
focusing on the moving image, making installations which appear to be mere
environments. One of her best works is Echo, an installation in which she copied
the space of Dhondt-Dhaenens Museum (Deurle) on a 1:1 scale. The title of the
work refers not only to the repeating image in space, but also to the importance
of sound for attaining perfect immersion. Together with Heidi Voet and Anton
Aeki, De Clercq engaged in Hereisthere, an online collaboration in which not only
the artists but also different places on a world map merge into one entity.
_ I M E D I A _
Projects involving the internet, such as those of Jodi, Harvey & Samyn or
Hereisthere give art a personal touch, partly caused by the media that are
used and the way in which they are part of the users’ environment. In 2003 Els
Opsomer (1968) created the first of a series of _imovies_: very personal videos
dealing with very personal experiences (a trip to Palestine, known to her by the
media, a trip to São Paulo known to her by one of her friends, a trip to Senegal
known to her by her lover). The name _imovie_ refers to the video software
Apple provides with its computers. It is part of the iLife package for iMac to
iPod applications. The i refers to the internet era and helps software users to
organize their digital environment. Els Opsomer uses the i in a completely
different manner; i refers to zooming in, intermediary, imaginary or identity and
therefore to the first person I, together with the i of immersion of course.
In 2000, Els Opsomer, Herman Asselberghs and Rony Vissers made the
computer-driven installation Mondophrenetic. Inspired by the film 2 ou 3
Choses que je sais d’Elle (1967) in which Jean-Luc Godard reflects on his (im)
personal bond to the city of Paris, it is a work about urbanism in a globalized
world. Opsomer’s images from this installation resurfaced in a.m./p.m., a video
by Herman Asselberghs (1962), which was the first in a series of videos in which
the artist tries to find a space both for himself and for the viewer in a world -
known through the media. He looks at the world through media, where vague
concepts start to take shape: the Palestinians, September 11, globalization,
hostages and hostage takers, Fort Europe, illegal immigrants, life and death.
a.m./p.m. was inspired by a trip to Palestine, Capsular by a trip to Ceuta. This
is exactly why the city of Brussels – where Asselberghs lives and works –has
a more or less important role in each of his videos: a recognizable image of a
globalized world in a.m./p.m.; a place where the world and media meet in Proof
of Life; the centre of Europe in Capsular; coda in Futur Antérieur.
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