BORDERS

Bieke Depoorter, the renowned Magnum photographer, turns her lens inwards and explores the boundaries of the medium itself, between connection and intrusion, trust and transgression. Depoorter is known for her intimate, collaborative approach that questions the relationship between photographer and subject. In this way, she built a close bond with someone with whom she worked for years, created exhibitions and published a book. The friendship blurred the line between photographer and model. Now, the subject no longer wants the photographs to be shown or the book to be sold. To this end, they are invoking the right to be forgotten. With The right to be forgotten?, Bieke Depoorter explores what this means for her as a photographer.

Robbert&Frank / Frank&Robbert are an artist duo from Ghent known for their poetic and playful approach. Their work is exhibited internationally and often provokes wonder and reflection. For example, the duo are exhibiting a ‘border suitcase’ in the museum; a suitcase that unfolds into a border at a specific or random location, thereby calling into question the very nature of borders. With Orizontas, Robbert&Frank / Frank&Robbert refer in the conservatories to previous performances, in which the boundary between the public and the surroundings disappears. Finally, the artists also constructed two large Border Guards, which stand at the entrance to the Botanical Garden. During an inauguration ritual, hop plants were placed at their feet, which will eventually overgrow the sculptures. Anyone walking into the Botanical Garden walks beneath the arms of the Border Guards, thereby activating the sculptures as they themselves cross the boundary with the outside world.

The art collective playField, comprising Marthe and Lana Schneider, is a resident at GUM & Plantentuin and frequently works at the intersection of art and science. Their fascination with society and human behaviour is often expressed through interactive installations, where the boundary between the artwork and the audience becomes blurred. For BORDERS, playField developed a diorama representing a liminal space, which serves as scenographic preliminary research for their new performance Don’t Forget to Die about the ‘digital afterlife’.

In addition, Lana Schneider created a large mural entitled About the Red Deer and the Hyena, who drew the Same Line from Opposite Sides. This is inspired by the graphs featured throughout BORDERS and demonstrates how supposedly objective graphical representations guide our gaze. By dissecting, stacking and shifting these, the graphs become largely illegible and our focus shifts to their aesthetic element.