BEAUFORT - Sorry

Location

Karel Janssenslaan 31
Oostende 8400
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Guillaume Bijl

The culture of monuments is based on consensus. Someone has rendered a service to society that is important enough for the person in question to be granted a permanent place, preferably in a prominent spot, so that many people will encounter it on a daily basis. Generally, the statue is designed in a majestic, but serious style, mounted on a pedestal that lends the entire work a certain sacral quality. Guillaume Bijl has changed this standard representation by surrealistically replacing the person with a dog. This twist calls into question the seriousness of the scene, to a certain extent of course, and causes the viewer to wonder whether it is truly a homage or a work of art.

This installation is in line with Bijl’s oeuvre, which seeks to engage in an ‘archaeology of our society'. He copies objects from the real world in a tragicomic manner, forcing us to stop and think about our own culture. This work is part of a series that Bijl named Sorry, absurd compositions that are an exception to his generally realistic style. He apologizes for that faux-pas with 'sorry', a word that is so easily used in all manner of circumstances. The work makes us stop and think about the fact that the legitimacy of monuments is anything but permanent. Although monuments succeed in paying lasting tribute to a person, statues are always subject to the zeitgeist. There is always the chance that so-called heroic deeds can, over the course of time, come to be seen in a different light.

Material: Bronze, natural stone, plaster
Dimensions: 220 x 300 x 400 cm