Tom Bogaert's cucumber!

From Makan: Artist Tom Bogaert presents his first impressions of the Near East!




What’s a cucumber?
Impression, proche orient 1 | car parts and cucumbers

"Impression, proche orient" (IPO), is the title of Tom Bogaert’s art project which will include a grand tour of residencies in the Near East; IPO is a geopolitical art project with production and research referencing new Arabs, political incompatibilities, artistic identity and sometimes, cucumbers. The tour started with a two month residency in Makan as part of the Bait Makan residency program concluding in an exhibition entitled “What’s a cucumber?” opening on Wednesday the 24th of March in Makan, will showcase the works he accomplished and the issues addressed during the residency. The exhibition will be on view until the 30th of March

Based on his observations and personal impressions, the starting point for Bogaert’s ‘Jordan Cucumber Project’ is a take on what Khalid Mishaal, leader of Hamas, thinks of the Jordanian cucumbers in reference to the political issue known as the Jordanian Option. While the 2nd part of Bogart's exhibition, ‘kompressor,’ is an exploration of the intersections between enlightened absolutism and the car stickers used by Mercedes-Benz for their super-charged engines employing visual symbols from the immediate environment.

Tom Bogaert, a visual artist from Belgium, he uses installation to create contextual pieces that are politically inspired. Though Bogaert often deals with difficult themes and subjects, he maintains a degree of lightness and humor in his work; the seriousness of the work and subject matter are often masked by this humor and by an intentional lack of high-production values."