Fantastic Illusions. Die Sehnsucht im Bild zu Sein

Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Shanghai (CN), 13 September - 11 October 2009

Participating artists:  Jenova Chen, David Claerbout, Hans Op De Beeck, Anouk De Clercq, Nick Ervinck, Hu Jieming, Teddy Lo, Peng Yun, Bart Stolle, Tale of Tales, Heidi Voet, Wu Juehui, Xu Wenkai

Co-curated with Christophe De Jaeger & Art Yan

In the exhibition Fantastic Illusions seven Belgian and seven Chinese artists build illusory spaces for the visitor. A continual interaction between the space of the artist and that of the spectator is the recurring theme of the exhibition. The artists work with various media such as painting, video art and computer installations.

The title of the exhibition alludes to humans' desire to enter an extraordinary world of fantasy. Given the philosophical developments of the 20th century, one of the least significant tasks of the critical artist is to create illusions. However, history shows that artists and spectators alike have a constant desire best described by the Romantic phrase, "die Sehnsucht im Bild zu sein."

Who among us has never felt the irresistible urge to step into a painting? Consider a Dutch landscape by Jacob van Ruysdael. Our gaze is irresistibly drawn to the path that runs through the landscape until it ends. It is disappointing that we cannot get beyond the horizon or feel the wind raging over the landscape. Film offers a variety of images and, consequently, a greater illusion. Yet, here, too, the spectator cannot get beyond the screen. In a 1902 Edison film, Uncle Josh jumps through the screen because he has fallen in love with the actress and comes to blows with the projectionist. Artists have often tried to create the greatest possible illusion for the viewer. Manipulating space is crucial to this. Either artists intervene in the visitor’s space, or they allow visitors to intervene in the space of the artwork itself.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, artists generally intervened in visitors' spaces. They did so by painting gigantic panoramic canvases or building dark cinema auditoria, endeavoring to exclude reality and create a new world for the spectator. By the end of the 20th century, rapid developments in computer technology allowed spectators to intervene in the space of the artwork. In virtual reality systems, viewers could suddenly walk, via an avatar, through an artificial world and perform actions. Even the cyberpunk movement of the 1980s dabbled with the idea of setting aside one's physical body and being swallowed up by a stream of data in cyberspace. The spectator could disappear forever in the image.

Part of the 3rd Shanghai eARTS Festival and Europalia.China, in collaboration with BUDA Arts Centre, Kortrijk (BE)