Catalogue Into the Labyrinth

Hans Op de Beeck creates spatial works, videos and photos of everyday scenes. These are often so far removed from their original context that their very right to exist is called into question. Video clips are enlarged or edited, models built in which key elements are missing or materials which have a ‘different’ look are used. The recognisable situations showcased by Op de Beeck usually breathe an atmosphere of deep desolation and emptiness. He emphasises the alienation inherent in modern life, and the dullness, monotony and miscommunication that accompany it.

Hans Op de Beeck’s work is subtle and somewhat melancholy in nature. This is evident not only in the precise way in which it is executed, but also in the attention to small things like a gesture, symbol, glance or silence. An element of compassion and memory lurks beneath. The inspiration often comes from personal experience, but the works are undeniably fictitious, constructed and staged, leaving it to the viewer whether or not to accept the work as reality. Op de Beeck emphasises the fine line separating reality and representation, between what we see and what we want to believe.