Aura, a solo show on display until the 19th of November at Archiraar Gallery, Brussels.
I am going into the temple, the guardians are looking at me, they are flat images, they do not move, they do not smile, they are set in stone for ever. Their masks laugh at their existential tragedy. They are the king and the priest, power and belief, they are guarding the temple of religious and secular traditions. They do not respect these, they betray these traditions because they are the subjects of syncretism and of imperialistic needs, they want to reign over everything and everyone and they get along with everything and everyone. We may not respect them as they are powerless, they are just images and power is elsewhere.
A recipient of knowledge came to me and asked me what was it I came to adore in this temple and I replied I was searching, because the temples of my city had disappeared and the idols had fallen. The recipient reassured me by assuring me that at the end of the temple, there existed a true icon I might adore, and was I not feeling this subtle breeze, this aura that emanated from it ? I answered yes, I had got the wind of such a thing but it was still unknown to me. The door was pointed out to me. It was believed we ought to cross the door to access the chamber. We walked around it, appraising the engravings adorning the door. They were telling the stories of the present time. I kept repeating I wanted to cross the door and the recipient kept telling the stories of the present time and I didn't care about death, war, love, or the law. I only wanted to see the icon and I was filled with tears of rage ! The recipient didn't care either, his discourse was unfolding like music sheets. At least after a while, we crossed the door and the sarcophagus of the guardians were staring at us. At least, behind the veil I could feel the breath of the icon. I prayed the recipient to unveil the icon before iconoclasm submerged me. I was being mocked of my credulity, in front of the images the recipient kept glossing over and over.
