Search for:

I am / here vertical

Fabrice Samyn

period: 24.08.2020 → 31.12.2030

The self-reflective work ‘I am /here vertical’ (2020) is a performative meditation, revealing the intimate strengths of our relationships with others and with ourselves. It shows us the strength as well as the fragility of language, and sharpens our notion of the intangible nature of concepts such as time and space.

Over a period of several years, Belgian artist Fabrice Samyn will realize – with great care – a series of incisions in the upper bark layer of several mature oak trees on the grounds of the Frans Masereel Centrum. As a visitor, resident or casual passer-by, you are invited to make a frottage / rubbing with a piece of graphite on a blank paper of the text that was integrated into the tree, and leave a message on the back of the paper for the person to whom you would like to send this card. When you leave the addressed postcard in the gilded nest box in our main studio, we will do the rest and take care of the stamps and shipping. New written incisions will be added gradually over the next few years. These new incissions can either be arise from the older ones, or made from scratch on another tree. The decrease in sharpness of the print reflects the ‘distance’ in time from the time of the original incision. Over time, all incisions will close again.

‘I am /here vertical’ (2020) is part of ‘Curating the Woodland’, a long-term initiative in which contemporary artists are commissioned to realize an artistic intervention on the entire site of the Frans Masereel Centrum. The work is accessible to visitors by appointment or during the opening hours of our exhibitions.

I Am

The self-reflective work ‘I am /here vertical’ (2020) is a performative meditation, revealing the intimate strengths of our relationships with others and with ourselves. It shows us the strength as well as the fragility of language, and sharpens our notion of the intangible nature of concepts such as time and space.

Over a period of several years, Belgian artist Fabrice Samyn will realize – with great care – a series of incisions in the upper bark layer of several mature oak trees on the grounds of the Frans Masereel Centrum. As a visitor, resident or casual passer-by, you are invited to make a frottage / rubbing with a piece of graphite on a blank paper of the text that was integrated into the tree, and leave a message on the back of the paper for the person to whom you would like to send this card. When you leave the addressed postcard in the gilded nest box in our main studio, we will do the rest and take care of the stamps and shipping. New written incisions will be added gradually over the next few years. These new incissions can either be arise from the older ones, or made from scratch on another tree. The decrease in sharpness of the print reflects the ‘distance’ in time from the time of the original incision. Over time, all incisions will close again.

‘I am /here vertical’ (2020) is part of ‘Curating the Woodland’, a long-term initiative in which contemporary artists are commissioned to realize an artistic intervention on the entire site of the Frans Masereel Centrum. The work is accessible to visitors by appointment or during the opening hours of our exhibitions.

Your Cart