VDB Transit Company
VDB TRANSIT COMPANY
with Markéta de Borggraef and Victor Van Wassenhove
2019
Installation & performance
29 June – 6 October 2019
Inspired by the shape of the exhibition building reminiscing them of a basement and an attic at the same time, YLÏAM questions their relationship with accumulated and discarded objects, while connecting the subject to wider subjects such a geographical displacement and architecture.
With Markéta de Borggraef and Victor Van Wassenhove, they launch a semi functional company specialised in pleasure objects, moving and the domestic space.
As objects are inherently connected with activation, linking their specifities with performance forms a tangible path to explore the spatial, acoustic and socio-cultural qualities of the exhibition building and the idea of an artobject, inviting the spectator to question their relationship with physical property, memories and their view on art by wether taking part of the performances, or by simply visiting the scenography.
Resourcing the materials happened mostly with Ebay Kleineinzage, a famous second-hand website in Germany, and forums where citizens can exchange or sell objects they no longer need.
By using this platforms, the artists of VDB Transit Company were able to meet various poeple of the area, visit different houses and witness the original source of the objects later used in their performance, to form a connection with the city they were invited in.
The objects, no longer needed by their owners, become part of the scenography, making their value shift, while remaining intact in their use.
Here, the found object is not put in an exhibition as an isolated artifact, but continues to hold its intent meaning and usage. Yet, the stagnation of the scene, looking alive but only activated once a month, makes it still linger between fiction and reality, until the performances activate the whole scene.
At the same time, the whole build up of the office is a performance in itself: with bright coloured and coded outfits referring to a working class, while being working for an institution, the resourcing of materials, the install and their stay in Düsseldorf becomes in itself a dubious fiction that the artists themselves cannot seperate from reality anymore.
During this exhibition, 4 performances took place:
— INAUGURATION by VDB TRANSIT COMPANY
— CHAMBRE AUTOMATIQUE by MARKETA DE BORGGRAEF
— A CHOIR, by MAÏLY BEYRENS XU
— GUIDED VISIT by LOUCHE
With works by: Maïly Beyrens, Verena Buttmann, Signe Raunkjær Holm, Ji hyung Song
Edited by KIT – Kunst im Tunnel und Kunsthalle Düsseldorf gGmbH
88 pages, numerous colour illustrations
German, English
Rhineart.com article