APPENDIX

‘The appendix is a strange organ. No discernible purpose or use. Living off the system. Just like a parasite. Don’t you agree? For the most part, it’s harmless. But as you know, it can occasionally inflame and endanger the whole organism. In a perfect society, we’d cut them all out before they can act up. Progress through science.
That’s what my superiors say. At least publicly… Imbeciles…'
- quote from August, 2016

The Israeli-American artist Omer Fast (°1972) is arguably one of the most intriguing voices in the current landscape bridging film and visual arts. In his mostly filmic work, he plays with the relation between reality and fiction, construction of narrative, linearity and story perspective, and tackles topics such as trauma and conflict through the personal stories of the characters involved. This presentation in STUK is his first solo exhibition in Belgium.

In STUK, Fast’s 3D film August (2016) is taking centre stage. The 15 minute film is based on the life and work of German photographer August Sander (1876 - 1964) and shows Sander at the end of his life, nearly blind and unable to sleep. As he roams his house late at night, figures from the past briefly appear, mostly frozen and ghostlike. At times friendly and at times taunting, the figures eventually drive the artist into the night, where he seeks refuge in nature.

This poetic film sketches a touching and almost tangible portrait of this famous photographer, on the border between fact and fiction.

August is preceded by the single-screen piece Looking Pretty for God (After G.W.) (2008) in which North-American funeral directors speak about their work. As the professionals responsible for a deceased person’s last public appearance, funeral directors’ work combines make-up artistry, plastic surgery, grief counseling, event planning, and magic. Conceived as a dry documentary, the film mostly sticks to its subject, but sometimes veers into surreal scenes involving children on a fashion shoot. As the young visitors calmly pose among the coffins, they inexplicably channel the voices of the funeral directors. A surprising but profound link is thus made between two very different worlds both dealing with the creation of images, their artificiality and resonance.

In STUK, Looking Pretty for God (After G.W.) is presented in an elaborate scenography of a two-bedroom family apartment specially created for the exhibition. The small apartment is in the process of being dissolved and packed away, its former residents are missing. Upon close inspection, little clues allude to problems, a crisis, perhaps a catastrophe. Alluding to disappearance as a theatrical act, death as a social ritual, and memory as a collective performance, the installation thus connects the two works in the show.

Installation shots © Kristof Vrancken
Full album via Flickr