En plein public
Antwerp based artist ‘En plein public’ is slowly but surely building a real-estate empire. He works in area’s with high vacancy rates and flips property prices by rapid gentrification.Bars, clubs, galleries, bakeries and butchers pop-up over night.
‘En plein public’ organises site-specific exhibitions and interventions.It is an initiative of Frederik Lizen to focus on the vacancy of space and to establish a revival through exhibitions. ‘En plein public’ brings attention to places wich are often destined to be forgotten, demolished or put out of sight. Self organisation is needed to appropriate these vacant spaces and make them public again.
This exhibition-project contains the fictional opening off various commercial enterprises, all located in the same area. Several derelict shop windows were an inspiration to cover up the consequences an economic crisis brought along. Using these consequences( vacancy), but also camouflaging them …
The project used painting to restage these commercial settings.One shows a gallery ‘nature morte’ exhibiting prints of Vincent van Gogh in combination with ‘en plein public’ his work. An other one shows a ‘day & night’ shop. The paradox is in the being of commercial enterprises without being able to be commercial.
The full potential of the location is explored by making use of it’s display window and renders the project visible from the street. en plein public claims having interactions with everybody (people with or without artistic background) present during the short times of exhibition. Project probably still to be seen till end of february 2013 or as long as stock lasts.