After his Familiestraat project Thomas Verstraeten returned to the Seefhoek with an ode to this extremely diverse district in the northern part of Antwerp.
For his second exhibition at the gallery, Thomas Verstraeten is showing a new installation constructed from the pieces he created for his Seefhoek Series. A new approach, a different view, a totally immersive experience.
Seefhoek Series was an attempt to penetrate the soul of an urban district. It was a meditation on a vibrant but marginalized neighbourhood. Seefhoek Series was a seven-part location project. In each episode, he examined a different aspect of his neighbourhood, only to lift it out of its ordinary context, turn it around, take it apart, enlarge it, isolate it, and then finally reintroduce it into that same urban context. Seefhoek Series was like a relay race, where one project led to the next.
"A forgotten football square where young street players footballed their way toward stardom in front of cameras. A performance in which local residents transformed the urban district into a moving soundscape. An installation in the nearby Park Spoor Noord. A collection of food stalls spread out across the city. A happening on the Stuivenbergplein, where throwing and picking up rubbish became an aesthetic event. The merry-go-round came to an end on the stage of the Bourla Theatre, where the preacher from the Astridplein preached salvation. Urbi et Orbi. For the city and the world."
