Fringe | perpetuum broodbile

A huge banner by the artist duo Jonas & Sarah

Artist duo Jonas & Sarah depict a grain of wheat’s metamorphosis in perpetuum broodbile with a salt-dough collage. The grain of wheat, in its many forms, bridges the gap between the exhibition venue – maakleerplek is the former Molens van Orshoven grain mill – and the loaves of bread that abound in Dieric Bouts’ oeuvre.

The work unfolds as a diptych. On the first panel is a game board on which a grain of wheat seems to independently transform from seed to bread before decomposing again into a system of indiscriminate internal organs. On the second, the perspective shifts to reveal pawns and players on and around the board. This transformation feels more like a game that is played rather than a game with a life of its own.

Sarah Lauwers (b. 1997) studied Fine Arts at the LUCA School of Arts in Brussels. Jonas Beerts (b. 1997) studied Visual Arts at KASK in Ghent. Sarah & Jonas – as a team – share an interest in a hybrid world where the digital and physical converge. Their work explores themes of vulnerability, malleability, and radical imagination. They weave clay, wood, textiles, cardboard, and other commonly available materials together with video and live camera to create whimsical universes.

Jonas & Sarah have their respective studios at maakleerplek and BAC ART LAB. Their perpetuum broodbile is the first artist design to go on the banner adorning the east façade of maakleerplek. These huge building-length banner(s) cover over 140 square metres combined and are Cas-co’s unique way of providing emerging artists (and collectives) with a permanent exhibition platform. Cas-co gives underground artists a chance to shine out in the open. And that makes the project a perfect match for the Vaartkom, where industrial heritage and new construction projects coalesce, and life is always on the move.

Off the Grid is Cas-co’s in-house residency and presentation platform. One of the residency programmes specifically targets budding artists who don’t have a studio yet and have little or no access to the usual exhibition circuit or galleries. Artists are given three months in Off the Grid’s project space. It’s a springboard for engaging in dialogue with other professionals and focussing on a specific study or aspect of their practice (e.g., mastering a new medium). The residency concludes with a two-week solo presentation and an artist talk on the sidelines of the opening or finissage.