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17/9/2014

Eric van Hove

Stuk Kunstencentrum, Leuven

Atchilihtallah is the title of Eric van Hove’s upcoming solo exhibition. Alongside other recent works, the exhibition showcases V12 Laraki, a piece that features a Mercedes- Benz 6.2L V12 engine crafted in collaboration with fifty-five Moroccan master craftsmen. Based in Marrakech since 2013, the artist has often referred to his atelier in the Maghreb as a “socio-economic sculpture”; consequently, he has decided to transpose it to STUK’s gallery space, inviting nine craftsmen to work in this transplanted studio for ten days (21-30 October). The exhibition will be accompanied by a conference and a book.

Atchilihtallah is a Moroccan saying that translates literally as "This is what God gave us!". The saying expresses a sense of finality, of having reached an end. The invocation of God brings all discussion to a close and indicates that there is nothing more that we can do: human action cedes to divine volition. But Atchilhtallah also suggests that what we have been given in life, no matter how minimal it might seem, is in fact an opportunity promise—one that we can and should build from in a spirit of humility. In popular culture, the saying is often used as an exhortation to consider the positive aspects of situations that could otherwise be considered final or deadlocked.

In using this title, the exhibition aims to unearth the contradictions that underlie this saying in order to explore the position of the crafter as a metaphor of a broader system. The saying, with its initial evocation of futility and finality, seems to contradict the endeavour of painstakingly remaking a non-working Mercedes V12 engine by hand, but underneath that contradiction is an allusion to the sacred gift this engine represents: despite its apparent uselessness, it is what God gave us. Accordingly, the iconic sculpture will be removed halfway through the show, giving the viewer the opportunity to access the richness and this less obvious attitude that fathered it.

Atchilihtallah and V12 Laraki investigate these and other apparently opposed attitudes and create a space in which to perceive and consider, in a postcolonial and post-Fordist context, juxtapositions between craft and industry, entanglements between the Occident and the Orient, etc.

As a part of the exhibition, we also host a conference and a book. The conference takes place on October 23 at 20:00, with curator Jean-Hubert Martin and arts sociologist Pascal Gielen as speakers. The conference elaborates on the exhibition's themes: the differences between Western and non-Western and between Moroccan and European, but also the link between crafts, industry and art. The same themes are elaborated in the book, consisting of seven essays, interviews with the Moroccan craftsmen and pictures of the motor parts they recreated and the crafting process itself. The book will be presented officially at STUK on October 23 at 17:00, but can be viewed in STUK Expozaal during the exhibition.

Atchilihtallah is presented as part of '50 years of migration'.

Atchilihtallah & de V12 Laraki publicatie is een coproductie van:
STUK Kunstencentrum vzw - Marrakech Biennale Association, Marrakech, Morocco -Dar al Ma’mûn artist residency, Marrakech, Morocco - Centre de Création Contemporaine (CCC), Tours, France - SAM Art Project, Paris, France - Private collectors - Le Service des Arts plastiques de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium - La Communauté française de Belgique, Brussels, Belgium

Communication
Frank Geypens +32 (0)16 320 313 frank.geypens@stuk.be
Leen Persoons +32 (0)16 320 317 leen.persoons@stuk.be
Joeri Thiry +32 (0)16 320 355 joeri.thiry@stuk.be
Hans Empereur +32(0)16 320 308 hans.empereur@stuk.be

Opening 18 september 2014 - 20:00

STUK kunstencentrum
Naamsestraat 96 - Leuven
hours:
We - Th : 14:00 - 21:00 | Fr - Sa - Su : 14:00 - 18:00
Access to STUK's exhibitions is free of charge

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