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Dark Uncles
"A man without history or a people that forgot its past will have no choice but to disappear...". This quote from award-winning Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki runs like a thread through the very first solo show by young Belgian artist Klaas Rommelaere (°1986).
In Dark Uncles, Rommelaere delves into the roots of his past. He traces his own history and brings it to life with needle and thread. The exhibition therefore refers both to personal references of the artist and to historical and folkloric elements. A procession of monumental puppets carrying flags are doppelgangers (dark uncles) of people from his environment. Together with the two family dogs, they move through the exhibition space and offer the viewer a glimpse into the artist's experiences and memories. The countless details on their bodies refer to their personalities, to a story, a memory. It is an ode to all the people who have influenced him.
Alongside the procession are pillars that refer to the foundations of a house, but also to gravestones. We grow from our ancestors; they are the foundation for our future. In addition to the dolls, there are also embroideries and tapestries. These are scenes from memories, old and new family photos and portraits of real and fictional people. In these layered and sometimes strange visual stories of his textile paintings, fragments from film scenes and situations from his own daily life blur into powerful and at the same time delicate snapshots.
Rommelaere graduated in 2013 as a fashion student from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent and did internships with Henrik Vibskov and Raf Simons. However, he soon opted for the visual arts, but with a focus on traditional crafts. His visual language is rooted in both his everyday life and pop culture: quotes from films or animations are mixed with interpersonal observations and experiences.
Rommelaere is a remarkable artist in many ways. He uses traditional crafts that require skill and time and combines them with an open, innovative and creative perspective. All the works in the exhibition are handmade. Since the beginning of his career, Rommelaere has been working with 15 elderly ladies (the so-called 'madammen') who help him with the handicrafts and meet every week in Antwerp, Roeselare and Ingelmunster. For this exhibition, Rommelaere expanded this group to include enthusiastic textile makers from all over Flanders. Some 90 makers responded to the call from the artist and the museum. Under Klaas's wing, they spent six months embroidering, knotting, stitching and crocheting. Initially, this took place in weekly sessions in Texture's textile workshop, but later – due to the coronavirus crisis – in living rooms, on terraces and at kitchen tables throughout Flanders. They contributed to this work of art as true co-creators.
Discover more about Klaas Rommelaere's work in the accompanying publication, published by Art Paper Editions and Be-Part Kortrijk, available in the Texture museum shop.
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