Birde Vanheerswynghels : The cat with nine lives

We are honoured to present the first 2 solo exhibitions by Birde Vanheerswynghels (BE, 1986) and Aiden Morse (AU, 1994). Both artists explore the borders of photography to create a new reality. What seems to be an observation of reality is actually a composed image from personal impressions. This exhibition is a confrontation between both artists and their work.

Vanheerswynghels is known for her impressive large scale charcoal drawings of constructed and lush landscapes that stem from a mental archive of images. Considering the process of drawing as an analysis of shapes, Vanheerswynghels often explores the same subjects, like trees, bushes, flowers, ponds, plants and birds. By using different layers of colour and a combination of coloured pastel, charcoal and highlights made by erasing parts of the drawing, the work becomes rich in depth and details. In her new series of drawings we see an enhanced adaption of techniques, creating a rich variety of patterns and contrasts.

Rendering her subjects enlarged and overly dimensional, the photographic space of the images becomes alienated and the spectator is tricked.'The cat with nine lives' refers to Vanheerswynghels¹ first insight into how 3-dimensionality can be experienced as 2-dimensionality. As a child she saw a cat being run over by a car and got fascinated by the shape the animal transformed into. In her work process she recreates this transit from figuration to abstraction and back again by starting from photographs, mainly self made polaroids. As the foundation for her drawings, these polaroids act as fragments of a composition that becomes a newly composed image, Vanheerswynghels' research into colour continues in a series of new pigment prints. Instead of a piece of blank paper she uses a blow-up of a digital manipulated image. Adding layers of pigment to the print, a new image arises which challenges the boundaries between drawing and photography.

Birde Vanheerswynghels (1986, BE) lives & works in Brussels. She studied at Sint-Lucas in Ghent and is a laureate from HISK (2013-15). In 2015 she was the winner of the Baker Tilly Roelfs Prize, Düsseldorf (DE) for her contribution in the group show 'Terra Incognita', KIT, Düsseldorf (DE). She made several residencies at Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris (GR), Kunstprojektraum Tapir, Berlin (DE), Boiling Point PRESS Berlin (DE) and Takt kunstprojektraum, Berlin (DE). She participated in group exhibitions at amongst others Drawing Center Diepenheim, Diepenhein (NL), Croxhapox, Ghent (BE), Galerie Martin Kudlek, Köln (DE), Voorkamer, Lier (BE).'The cat with nine lives' is her first solo exhibition. Her work is to be found in private collections in Belgium and Germany.

The title 'Ghost to Ghost' by Aiden Morse is inspired by the Nord American late-night radio show Coast to Coast focusing on paranormal activity and conspiracy theories. It immediately sets the tone for the show. Mysterious and creepy, the basis of the works lies in a weeklong stay in a cabin in the woods together with his girlfriend Anna. The photographs stem from an interest in documentary photography, specifically in that of ufo activity. Morse also refers to this interest in the titles of his works, all inspired by reports of extra-terrestrial activity.

The photoshop-polished aesthetic of these works distances them from the photographic vernacular. Instead of representations of the real, Morse's photographs are a tribute to the slippery and seductive power of images. The images are often linked to concepts as the uncanny and lifelessness. They are autobiographical, although at the same time they are clearly constructed. Clues referring to the social environment of the artist can be noticed, but they appear enlarged and alienated. He aims to make the familiar unfamiliar.

Aiden Morse (1994, AU) lives & works in Melbourne (AU). He had solo exhibitions at Fort Delta, Melbourne (AU), HOUSE Gallery, Georgia (US) and Barkly Place, Melbourne (AU). He also participated in several group exhibitions and online projects, amongst others Fort Delta, Melbourne (AU), Tatjana Pieters, Ghent (BE), STCFTHOTS, Leeds (UK), Peninsula Art Space, Brooklyn (US), ARI, Tasmania (AU), Signal Screens, Melbourne (AU), Udstillingsstedet Q, Copenhagen and Krabbesholm (DK), QUAD Projects, Melbourne (AU),  Melbourne Central, Melbourne (AU), RMIT Gallery, Melbourne (AU), Little Woods Gallery, Melbourne (AU), New Low, Melbourne (AU), Federation Square Big Screen, Melbourne (AU), Mutuo Centro de Arte, Barcelona (ES), Carriage works, Sydney (AU), The Royal Standard, Liverpool (UK), Parallelograms, online and Photoville, Brooklyn (US).

Opening Sunday 5th of June : 3 - 6 PM