M HKA Ensembles

In his move away from representation and materiality, Hugo Roelandt became increasingly interested in ‘formless’ elements such as air and water, light and colour. Some of his last works were immaterial, consisting only of the manipulation of light and space. For example, he created a series of light sculptures, including a light show on the neoclassical back façade of the Royal Academy of Antwerp. In Barcelona, Roelandt presented Aigua Bellugada/The Shape of Water (1986), comprising plastic bags filled with water in a grid formation, shimmering in the sunlight. This exhibition includes a reconstruction of Circulation (1985) as well, an installation consisting of a series of fans placed in an arc on the wall with microphones amplifying the sound of the moving air. At a time when the cultural landscape in Belgium was increasingly determined by commodities and economic logic, Roelandt made the common presence of air around us into the subject of artistic experience.

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