Regenerate

Regenerate, 2021
Wiels, Brussels

Human society has a remarkable ability to regenerate itself. After every cataclysm – whether man-made, natural or a combination of both – communities are eager to pick themselves up, dust themselves down and start again. While this process of reconstruction is seldom without its upheavals, pressing the reset button allows new priorities and new patterns of behaviour to emerge. The recent months of social isolation have offered the opportunity for re evaluation, for examining what might become the “new normal”. It has revealed what is superfluous and what is fundamental, but the conclusions drawn are far from universal. Artists have always been excellent barometers of such re-awakenings, either showing us the way or bearing witness to our struggles and confusion. WIELS takes this moment to make public works that have been deprived of the attention they deserve. In this period of ever increasing digitalisation, the exhibition privileges encounters that cannot be entirely replaced by online interactions. Regenerate explores what is emerging from this period of unpredictability, asks how the pandemic is shaping our imaginaries, and reaffirms the essential role of art in the reconstruction of society

"Tom Hallet has a multidisciplinary practice that mainly entails drawing and sculpture. In his work, the intimacy between the artist and its subject is a constant trigger. Through deconstructing and analysing personal experiences he uncovers new compositions that he turns into a physical presence. The object detaches from its origin and becomes independent. It can create its own history by the interpretation of the viewer. That is why he considers his work as finished when the subject can develop its own identity."

Written by, and curated by Zoe Geldermans Gray and Helena Kritis

I was invited to do a musical performance at KIOSK radio in the context of Regenerate. Together with Elisabeth Klinck & Victor Guaita, we created a soundscape designed to give voice to the fairies and landscapes that are represented in my drawings. The fairies found their breaths in the snares of an alt violin and in the electronic ripples created by Elisabeth, sounding like sharp cut-throat sissies wailing their real names. Together they made it possible to remind everyone that "they have always been here first".

To hear (and see) the performance click

Prologue (They Were Here First), performance

D.R.F. (A New Kind of Tenderness), 2021
150x50
latex, earth, seeds, rope, human hair

installation view Regenerate
D.R.F. (A New Kind of Tenderness), 2021
150x50
latex, earth, seeds, rope, human hair

installation view Regenerate
Tribute (Bertha), 2021
120x80
latex, seeds, rope, human hair

Tribute (Bertha), 2021
120x80
latex, seeds, rope, human hair

(Detail) Tribute (Bertha), 2021
120x80
latex, seeds, rope, human hair

installation view Regenerate
Tribute (Bertha), 2021
120x80
latex, seeds, rope, human hair

To Andrew (A Renewal), 2021
65x50
pencil on paper

installation view Regenerate
To Sarah, 2020 & To Derek, 2020
21x29,7
pencil on paper

(details) Sincerely Yours, 2021
65x50
pencil on paper

installation view Regenerate
To Alexander & D.R.F. (A New Kind of Tenderness)

installation view Regenerate
Sincerely Yours, 2021 & To Alexander, 2020
65x50 21x29,7
pencil on paper

To You, 2021
21x29,7
pencil on paper

(detail) To You, 2021
21x29,7
pencil on paper

Eye 2
12x5
talc-schist