JAN FABRE. UMBRACULUM

Start date: 06/07/2001

End date: 04/04/2011

Location: Otegem | Avignon | Rome | Oslo | Dortmund | Medellin | La Paz | Chili | São Paulo | Ljubljana | Dubrovnik

Solo Exhibition

For centuries, Umbraculum has signified a place where one shuts oneself off from the material world.* A place in the shade in which to think and work, far from everyday life. Jan Fabre has re-created this place in his own way. Seven old mechanical saws stand there on wooden blocks, no longer fixed to the floor as would normally be the case. They have been stripped of their former lives and stand here as a silent reminder of dogged and dirty work.Amidst the machines hover two figures made entirely of slices of human bone. They are reminiscent of pilgrims or medieval monks. They do not have faces, but exist solely of a casing. Arms and legs, also made of slices of bone, hang on the walls. From the ceiling hang crutches, walking frames and walking sticks, covered entirely in beetles’ wing-cases. They hang there like ex-votos in a medieval church. They have been stripped of their function and are like reminders of the thanks given by the cripple who is able to walk again. A gesture of thanks to the strength granted to continue living once again.

Sound can also be heard in the room. The sound of old sawing machines emerges from an indeterminate source as a reminder of an industrial past.

Umbraculum seems indirectly to have anything to do with ourselves. It creates a context out of man, the industrial world, dangers and mysterious spirituality, around which everything revolves and which forces us to reflect on labour, life and our own vulnerable human existence.** The two pilgrims invite us to turn ourselves inside out, to wear our skeletons on the outside. They invite us to put a suit of armour between us and the world.

Eric Mézil* refers to sjamanism. By contact with the spirits of our grandfathers, whom live in magical objects like animals and bones, we can have outer body experiences. Using rituals, sjamans get into a state of trance, and depart from this world. From those rituals a new human being emerges, one who can reconcile the cycle of life and death.Umbraculum calls for new rituals. Rituals that allow us to give the spiritual self a place in this world.

Umbraculum looks like a place where several pasts meet, where time stands still. It is armoured time, time as a shield between me and my busy existence. Or rather, it is a place outside time, where the cycle of life and death has come to a standstill. It is a place that eludes the world. It is a place where we elude our worldly selves.

 

“Umbraculum, a Latin term meaning ‘a place in the shade where one can work and think, far away from the obligations of everyday life’…The bone sculptures depict monks, in the words of the artist ‘spiritual travellers’. By analogy with the jewel beetle, these figures wear an external skeleton (exo-skeleton): a hard, impregnable armour instead of soft human skin, which offers maximal protection against possible wounds. These are bodies which give shape to a future portrayal of humanity…The accessories – crutches, wheelchairs and walking frames– act as additional prostheses, guarantees for the eternity of the spiritual bodies.” – Barbara De Coninck.

 

* Mézil, E., Umbraculum I en Umbraculum II, 2001.
** Kilger, G., preface to Umbraculum, 2001.

 

2001

• Umbraculum, Een plaats in de schaduw waar gedacht en gewerkt wordt, ver van het gangbare leven, Deweer Art Gallery, Otegem (cat.)
• Umbraculum. Un lieu ombragé hors du monde pour penser et travailler, Chapelle Saint-Charles, Avignon (cat.)
• Progetto Roma 2001, Umbraculum. Un posto ombreggiato dove pensare e lavorare lontano della vita quotidiana, Galleria Comunale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Rome (cat.)

2003

• Umbraculum, Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo (cat.)

2004

• Umbraculum, DASA, Dortmund (cat.)

2006

• An Umbraculum for Dubrovnik, Galerija Umjetnicka, Dubrovnik

2008

• Umbraculum para Santiago de Chile, MAC, Parque Forestal, Santiago de Chile

2009

• Umbraculum para La Paz Bolivia, un lugar para pensar y escribir, Museo Municipal Tambo Quirquincho, La Pa

2010

• Umbraculum para Medellin, un lugar en la sombra para reflexionar y trabajar, MAMM, Medellin
• Umbracululm para São Paulo, um lugar na sombra para pensar e trabajar, Instituto Tomie Ohtake, São Paulo

2011

• Umbraculum, Tobacna 001 Cultural Centre, Galerija 001, Ljubljana (cat.)