The exhibition Dirty Materials: Undoing, Dismantling, Undesigning is opening on Thursday 22nd of January at 7:00PM. It will be on show in our exhibition space et al. until Saturday 7th of February.
Visits possible every Friday (10:00-17:00) and Saturday afternoon (14:00-18:00) or on request!
Residency #002 – Spring explores Brussels’ fountain network and access to public drinking water, uncovering forgotten histories and new potential for our public spaces.
In this context, Belgian artist Sophie Nys joined us to present her work on fountains – from her project at the Basel Biennale, which reimagines their original function, to her Zurich publication documenting 89 replicas of the fountain designed by Alf Aebersold.
Sophie Nys’ work invites us to rethink what fountains contribute to urban life, beyond their practical role. The discussion took place in our space at et al. on Wednesday, November 13.
| common:date | 13.11.2024 |
Residency #002 – Spring explores the Brussels fountain network and the accessibility of drinking water in our public spaces. Through research into the multi-faceted history and the perhaps unknown – or forgotten – potential of fountains, Nathan Heindrichs and Helen Van de Vloet (Specs) aim to engage administrative and political actors to develop practical approaches for installing a fountain in public space. In this context, we invited Belgian artist Sophie Nys to give a lecture on her previous work related to city fountains.
Sophie Nys has repeatedly explored the subject of fountains, notably in her project for Art Basel in 2017, where she questioned the forgotten original use of fountains, and also in Zurich, where she was captivated by the sculptural qualities and historical references of the 89 duplicates of the fountain designed by Alf Aebersold. Nys documented and integrated all these fountains into a publication accompanied by texts by artist Leila Peacock.
While Sophie’s work questions how fountains are treated outside Belgium, it also examines what they can offer beyond their primary function. In this lecture, which took place in our space at et al. on Wednesday, November 13, Sophie Nys elaborated on the multiple issues present in her practice that arose from this latest project.