2021
DEPRESSION à DORTMUND BY JOS DE GRUYTER & HARALD THYS
Photographs of the dolls shown in the exhibition 'Mondo Cane' by artists Jos de Gruyter & Harald Thys at Bozar, Brussels
2021
Twenty-two dolls were made in 2018-2019 according to the Warsprong principle. Some dolls date from the early 18th and 19th century, others from the 20th century. Some dolls are still alive. Fourteen of these dolls were equipped with electric engines that enable them to perform repetitive actions. The dolls traveled from Brussels to Venice for a major exhibition. In 2020 they were shipped to Busan, a port city in South Korea, where they were displayed in a gigantic cage. On their return to Belgium in 2021, the artists commissioned photographer Kristien Daem to photograph their puppets in a studio. For this, an industrial LED lamp, the so-called Skypanel S60-C with a power of 6000 watts, was used and a technical camera with a digital back of Japanese-Danish make. The prints are realized by a specialized company in Kontich. They have recently started working according to the UV inkjet-printing principle. For this they purchased a VUTEK QS 3220 in America.
Concept by Jos de Gruyter & Harald Thys
Photographed by Kristien Daem
The artists are represented by Galerie Micheline Szwajcer, Antwerp; Maxwell Graham/Essex Street, New York and Isabella Bortolozzi, Berlin.
Micheline Szwajcer, Antwerp
Jos de Gruyter & Harald Thys, Dépression à Dortmund
Kristinus Oplinus, 2021 (photographed by Kristien Daem)
Jos de Gruyter & Harald Thys, Dépression à Dortmund
The Lantern, 2021 (photographed by Kristien Daem)
Jos de Gruyter & Harald Thys, Dépression à Dortmund
De Belder Guido, 2021 (photographed by Kristien Daem)
Jos de Gruyter & Harald Thys, Dépression à Dortmund
The Rat Woman, 2021 (photographed by Kristien Daem)
Jos de Gruyter & Harald Thys, Dépression à Dortmund
Ernst Wollemenger, 2021 (photographed by Kristien Daem)
Jos de Gruyter & Harald Thys, Dépression à Dortmund
Ilse Koch, 2021 (photographed by Kristien Daem)
Jos de Gruyter & Harald Thys, Dépression à Dortmund
Irmgard Speck, 2021 (photographed by Kristien Daem)
Jos de Gruyter & Harald Thys, Dépression à Dortmund
Jacobina Bienebol, 2021 (photographed by Kristien Daem)
Jos de Gruyter & Harald Thys, Dépression à Dortmund
Lathgreta Toft, 2021 (photographed by Kristien Daem)
Jos de Gruyter & Harald Thys, Dépression à Dortmund
Madame Legrand, 2021 (photographed by Kristien Daem)
Jos de Gruyter & Harald Thys, Dépression à Dortmund
Reverend Simons, 2021 (photographed by Kristien Daem)
Jos de Gruyter & Harald Thys, Dépression à Dortmund
Rocco Swenty Di Malaga, 2021 (photographed by Kristien Daem)
Jos de Gruyter & Harald Thys, Dépression à Dortmund
Sateri, 2021 (photographed by Kristien Daem)
Jos de Gruyter & Harald Thys, Dépression à Dortmund
The Fool, 2021 (photographed by Kristien Daem)
Jos de Gruyter & Harald Thys, Dépression à Dortmund
The Knife-Grinder of Wexford, 2021 (photographed by Kristien Daem)
Jos de Gruyter & Harald Thys, Dépression à Dortmund
The Swiss, 2021 (photographed by Kristien Daem)