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The works of the artist Jonas Vansteenkiste (1984, Kortrijk) are defined by spaces that recur in different media and techniques - including video, sculpture, photos and drawings - and in different forms of meaning. Vansteenkiste likes to use architectural elements in a physical and a psychological way. For several years now, Vansteenkiste has been investigating the relationship between the house and the body, as can be seen in the work 'Hütte'. The word 'Hütte' goes back to Germanic, Proto-Germanic and even Proto-Indo-European languages which explains why Middle Dutch and Old French, Dutch, Frisian, Danish and even Yiddish 'hoyt' have the same etymological origin. The word "Hütte" means "to cover" or "hide" in the sense of a humble dwelling (a "hut"), covering (the "skin") or something that conceals ("to hide"). The 'skin' as well as the 'house' stands between ourselves and the outside world. In the word 'Hütte' the meaning of 'skin' and 'hut' coincide in both a physical and mental sense. Here and there sewn-in classic windows or doors to scale remind us that through the 'skin' you can glance at or take a step into the world outside yourself. But that you can also look inside through it, literally and figuratively, or walk. The combination of the terms 'house' and 'skin' has taken on the form of a suspended cloak in the form of the leather sculpture 'Hütte'. As if the house is empty, but has nothing left to hide. Where is the creature that so casually left its last defence, its "cloak" here? Is there only outside? To what extent is there still protection and yes, protection of what?
Freely based on a text by Frederik Van Laere
(Gallery Sofie Van den Bussche)