“To start with, we were invited by C-mine to create something for the 2015 summer exhibition. This led us to propose an installation shaped as a giant labyrinth. Most of our site-specific installations result from an in-depth analysis of the environment, which leads to an interesting dialogue between work and context: the work tells something about the context and vice versa…Here, we were confronted with an artificial, highly designed, large-scaled context that wasn’t very welcoming to make a similar installation. We therefore chose to build an installation that was directed inwards and dealt more strongly with space and one’s relation to it. We did so by looking for inspiration in a primal architectural typology: the labyrinth. In a way, this is an essential form of architecture, which is only composed of walls. A series of Boolean transformations, however, generates openings and perspectives on the environment, which gives the labyrinth a new meaning. Finally, the ascension of the mine shafts are included in the experience in order to create another interesting relationship with the environment.”
Gijs Van Vaerenbergh
‘Labyrinth’ is a sculptural installation that focuses on the experience of space. The work originated from Gijs Van Vaerenbergh’s interest in fundamental architectural typologies; earlier installations were for example based on the city gate, bridge, wall, dome... Gijs Van Vaerenbergh view the age-old form of the labyrinth as architecture in its essential form; a compositions of walls that define spaces.
The installation measures 37.5 by 37.5 metres and consists of 1 kilometre of walls (186 ton), made out of steel plates that are 5 mm thick and 5 m high. Out of this structure, large elementary shapes are cut – a sphere, a cylinder, a cone... – to break down the logic of the labyrinth and create new spaces and unexpected perspectives. These Boolean transformations convert the walk through the labyrinth into a sequence of spatial and sculptural experiences. At the same time, the cut-outs function as ‘frames’ to the labyrinth. Throughout the monotonous succession of high corridors, the viewer is suddenly confronted with openings that reveal what is on the other side of the walls. Seen from some certain perspectives, the cut-outs are fragmentary, whereas from other viewpoints the entire cut-out shape is unveiled. Finally, the cut-outs also frame fragments of the environment, which become points of orientation throughout the walk.
‘Labyrinth’ does not only generate a variety of spaces and visual perspectives to those that enter the installation, it also interacts with the context of C-mine in a different way: ascending the old mine shafts, one can witness the structure from above and look down upon the wandering visitors – a point of view that is generally reserved for the creator of a labyrinth. Combining these elements, the installation is illustrative to Gijs Van Vaerenbergh’s practice: as always, the duo incorporates tensions between part and whole, form and transparency, recognition and estrangement, design and result, drawing and execution... The goal is to create a certain layeredness and openness to interpretations.
C-MINE
In 2001, the city of Genk bought the old Winterslag mining site of the company LRM. The question which role this monumental site could play for Genk, led to the ambition to transform it into a place that feeds the city with creative thinking. By now, C-mine attracts over 800.000 visitors a year, from citizens to tourists, from professionals to laymen. C-mine wants to be a meeting place for people who feel stimulated by diverse forms of innovation, whether it is in their professional life or in their leisure time. To achieve this, C-mine organizes activities within four areas: education, artistic creation and presentation, creative economy and creative recreation.
Gijs Van Vaerenbergh is an artistic collaboration, established by Pieterjan Gijs and Arnout Van Vaerenbergh (both 1983) after they graduated as architects. Their work mainly consists of public sculptures, site-specific interventions and experimental constructions. Central to their practice is a research into the fundaments of constructing and their impact upon the viewer. The duo misappropriates the language of architecture to use it as a medium for relatively autonomous and self-reflexive projects. Their interventions transform space and lay bare underlying, almost evident qualities. Next to their experimental projects, Gijs Van Vaerenbergh also works on architectural projects and commissions in which they incorporate the results of their experimental work. In this way, they follow a trajectory in two directions: from experiment to architecture and vice versa. Among their earlier works are: ‘The Upside Dome’ (Leuven, 2010), ‘Reading between the Lines’ (Borgloon, 2011), ‘Framework’ (Leuven, 2012) and ‘Bridge’ (Brussels, 2014). Later this year, they will realize the sculpture ‘Torqued Arc’ in Utrecht. At the moment, they are also working on a number of architectural projects.
Artist: Gijs Van Vaerenbergh
Structural engineering: Bollinger+Grohmann
Execution: Meuwes laswerken
Photography: Filip Dujardin
