<<

B o o k s :

the empty space she is allocated for exhibiting her work. She often opts for a less than

obvious spot, such as a barn, a cellar or an attic in an old house. In the initial stage

Oosting is very receptive to the space. Without following a preconceived plan, she

concentrates on the shapes already present in the room: a vaulted ceiling, an old

wooden door or a window. She tries to focus wholly on the perception of these shapes.

She then adds her own shapes using simple materials she can apply on site. For

example, she adds a column that merges with the existing architecture, or the

construction of the ceiling is repeated in three dimensions on the floor in plaster of

Paris. With great sensitivity these artificial interventions make the specific spatial

features of the site very apparent. A harmonious or tense relationship between existing

and added elements is created. This process of observation and intervention -and it can

go on for weeks at a time- is followed by a presentation.

The work can only be fully experienced by the observer when physically present in the

environment, and for the duration of the exhibition. He finds himself in a space which,

as a result of the interventions, is a cross between reality and fiction, and between a

real place and an artificial environment. It is impossible to replace the physical

experience of the space with photos or video images. The end of the presentation

irrevocably results in the end of the works. In the FLAC© arts centre Alien Oosting set

to work in two cellars. One of them was formerly used for storing coal. By sweeping

up the coal dust and mixing it with plaster she created a reflection of the light on the floor,

which completely transformed one's experience of the space. This modest intervention had

a great expressive power while at the same time also alluding to the region's mining history.”

Jaarboek FLACC, 2005
(Text: Roland Patteeuw)


Jaarboek FLACC, 2008
(Text: Karen Peulen, Steven opde Beeck, Guido Goossens, Alien Oosting))

r e v i e w s :

De ‘opvoedkunst’ van the underground