We are happy to invite you at the opening of our next show 🔥
𝐉𝐎𝐘 𝐒𝐀𝐔𝐂𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐘
𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦 𝐋𝐮𝐝𝐰𝐢𝐠 𝐋𝐮𝐭𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐬
𝟐𝟐.𝟎𝟓-𝟐𝟐.𝟎𝟔.𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔
“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘺𝘢𝘸𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱.”
Like a suspended state of exhaustion, almost fuelled by a sleep paralysis-like condition, 𝙅𝙤𝙮 𝙎𝙖𝙪𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙮 unfolds as a sequence of caricatural characters emerging like hallucinatory projections.
A mass of figures perform in various forms throughout the exhibition, oscillating between parody and psychological breakdown. Instinctively exploring humankind through anecdotes that slowly slip into darker territories of pleasure and suffering, William Ludwig Lutgens choreographs and performs his works at the same time, becoming both protagonist and source for his ongoing preoccupations with burnout, co-dependency, power relations, attachment and emotional exhaustion. Props and caricatural apparitions wearing wigs reveal their flesh like zombified carnations - decomposing, almost slipping out of their own skin.
The image of the worker, the exploiter and the exploited collapse into one another, all leading toward systems of control, subjugation and alienation.
(...)
Beneath its satirical surface lies an existential wound: an incoherent mass that consumes, reshapes and recycles us while we continue performing through solitude, dependency and the fear of disintegration.
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William Ludwig Lutgens works with painting, drawing, sculpture, performance, and film. He explores the human ego and the influence of media and societal systems within a performance-driven, late-neoliberal society. Playful, alter-ego-like characters often appear in his work, seemingly trapped within rigid social structures.
The grotesque plays an important role in his work: a space where humor and horror, or attraction and repulsion, overlap. Through absurdity, satire, and estrangement, Lutgens offers social commentary on themes such as economic competition, artistic practice, labor, and authority.
Lives and works in Antwerp, Belgium.
Poster by
@imminent.detour