Marc Bijl
Indy Structures
April 13, 2006–May 13, 2006The Breeder, Athens
THE BREEDER is pleased to present the second a solo exhibition by Dutch artist Marc Bijl, in Athens. In his practice he has shown a predominant interest in social structures and the mis-use of slogans, logo’s, symbols and code’s. Additionally, his counter – cultural video performances and illegal interventions play with our perception of what takes place in public spaces while his installations and objects are icons of temporarily fanaticism which can lead to nationalism, terrorism, religious extremism and finally death.
According to Marc Bijl, human nature is attracted to these simplified methods of structuring i.e. logo’s, symbols, political slogans, prayers, or even advertisements much more than it actually needs the power and freedom to denounce them. In Life Stages, he re-examines our need, as human beings for certain forms of structure in our lives, especially when even our lives are a structure in the biological sense. With this attempt we witness a hidden romantic desire, from his part, to understand the world we live in. Simultaneously, with this new body of work he takes a turn, towards the lingering ‘structure’ beneath any given ‘flag’ or ‘symbol’ and how that functions without its logo, in a more abstract form or even without a clear statement, as seen here in the piece Security Sculpture.
Within, Indy Structures we see Bijl taking a new turn, which instead of representing a ‘protest’ or a social structure, this time portrays a romantic form of ‘independency’ including all its contradictions. In the piece entitled Individual, he questions the notion of sovereignty and the possibility for a group of people who declare independency for a reason, to still remain autonomous individuals. And continuous by wondering if they do not become part of the groups’ mechanisms, themselves? Independency has an aura of objectivity and freedom, and yet independency is loneliness…freedom is a dream….
There are three layers to Marc Bijl’s work. He uses personal and art-historical references, as well as political/sociological events that influence our daily lives. All of which are ‘simplified messages’ just like the advertisements, the branding logo’s and the religious symbols around us, which shape and form our society.
Recent Solo and Group Exhibitions include:
2006 ‘Dark’ Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, curated by Jan Grosfeld and Rein Wolfs, EVA Biennale, Limerick, curated by Katerina Gregos, ‘I Love My Scene’ Mary Boone Gallery New York curated by Jose Freire, ‘Youth of Today’ Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, curated by Matthias Ulrich, ‘The Image is Gone’, Gallery Lisa Ruyter, Vienna, ‘Low Intensity Conflict’ Swiss Institute, New York;
2005 ‘Afterhours’ (solo), GEM, the museum of contemporary art, The Hague, ‘Superstars The Selebrity Factor from Warholl to Madonna’ Kunsthalle Vienna, ‘Leaps of Faith’, UN Green zone Cyprus, curated by Katerina Gregos, ‘Emergencies, MUSAC Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León, ‘Populism’, National Museum of Art, Oslo / Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius / Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt / Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, ‘On Patrol, De Appel, Amsterdam, ‘Festival of Dreams (part 2) ‘ curated by James Fuentes, Lombard Freid Fine Arts, New York
