Articles and Reviews
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Press Review Lafleur & Bogaert – documenta fifteen – GER 2022

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Persoverzicht Tom Bogaert – Kunstenfestival Watou – BEL 2022

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Cristina Nord – Film and video at documenta fifteen – Merkur GER 2022

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Laure van den Hout – documenta fifteen – Mister Motley NLD 2022

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Yuki Saiki – Documenta 15 report – Tokyo Art Beat JPN 2022

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Viera Pirker – Documenta fifteen; ein kritischer harvest – Feinschwarz GER 2022

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Frances Arnold – Highlights from documenta fifteen – ArtAsiaPacific HKG 2022

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Andrew Durbin – documenta fifteen editors’ picks – Frieze UK 2022

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Chantal Pattyn – documenta fifteen top 10 – Klara BEL 2022

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Ben Davis – documenta fifteen – Artnet USA 2022

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Geert Van der Speeten – documenta fifteen – De Standaard BEL 2022

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Atis Rezistans Ghetto Biennale – documenta fifteen – Catalog GER 2022

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Christof Rutten – Kunstenfestival Watou – Het Belang van Limburg BEL 2022

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Virginie Plateau – Kunstenfestival Watou – Poëziekrant BEL 2022

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Kristien Bonneure – Kunstenfestival Watou – VRT BEL 2022

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Geert Van der Speeten – Kunstenfestival Watou – De Standaard BEL 2022

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James Putnam – Kunstenfestival Watou – Bezoekersgids BEL 2022

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Laurie Bailliu – Kunstenfestival Watou – Krant van West-Vlaanderen BEL 2022

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Anne Provoost – Kunstenfestival Watou – BEL 2022

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Kayla Flett – Créolité Within Haiti – Demure magazine AUS 2022

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Bettina Landl – When Sun Comes Out – Die Referentin AUT 2021

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Hans Martens – Visit Rwanda – Video BEL 2021

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Audra Lambert – Live from Berlin – Wall label Chashama USA 2021

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Sebastian Six – Sun Ra Ra – Wall label bb15 AUT 2021

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Sebastian Six – Sun Ra Ra – Flyer bb15 AUT 2021

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Hans Martens – Visit Rwanda – Het Voorstel Catalog BEL 2021

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Geert Van der Speeten – A Soft Gentle Breeze – De Standaard BEL 2021

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Ushi Reiter – Ruining the City – architekturforum oberösterreich AUT 2021

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Paul Bruneel – A Soft Gentle Breeze – Krant van West-Vlaanderen BEL 2021

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Els Wuyts – A Soft Gentle Breeze – Villa les Zéphyrs BEL 2021

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Linda Nochlin Fanzine – Kiosk Publishes – BEL 2021

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Gerlinde Gilissen – Luchtledig – ART27 BEL 2020

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Jules van den Langenberg – Openmap Fieldnotes – ZK/U GER 2020

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Tom Bogaert – Walking the Hellweg – ZK/U GER 2020

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Gerlinde Gilissen – Luchtledig – Catalog BEL 2020

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Sandra Delacourt – Ghetto Biennale – Switch on Paper magazine FRA 2020

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Jareh Das – Lagos Biennial – Ocula magazine GBR 2019

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Eric Otieno – Lagos Biennial – Sleek magazine GER 2019

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Rebecca Anne Proctor – Lagos Biennial – Artnet USA 2019

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Kovie Parker – Lagos Biennial – TSA art magazine NGA 2019

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Lagos Biennial – Ant Farm Lagos – Wall label NGA 2019

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Robine Vanderhaeghe – Tom Bogaert over Visit Rwanda – UiT in Oostende BEL 2019

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Els Wuyts – Visit Rwanda – Bildnis flyer BEL 2019

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Hudson Kuteesa – Belgian visual artist’s work – New Times RWA 2019

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Kirsty Henderson – Interview: Artist Tom Bogaert – Living in Rwanda RWA 2019

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Collin Sekajugo – Dog Day Afternoon – Flyer RWA 2019

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Mark Ellwood – Miami Art Week – New York Post USA 2018

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Elizabeth Boyle – Pulse Miami Beach – Catalog USA 2018

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e-flux – Qalandiya International – Announcement USA 2018

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Ahed Izhiman – Interlude/Observance – Catalog PAL 2018

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Flux Factory – S.T.E.P. – press release USA 2018

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Qalandiya International – Solidarity – Press release PAL 2018

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e-flux – Subcontracted Nations – Announcement USA 2018

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Ghetto Biennale – Free Lens – Postcard HTI 2017

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Leah Gordon – Ghetto Biennale 2009 / 2015 – Catalog UK 2017

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Kader Bakou – Inspirations algériennes – Le Soir d’Algérie newspaper ALG 2017

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Walid Bouchakour – Des sujets sérieux avec humour – El Watan newspaper ALG 2017

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Espaco Gallery – SQUIB – Communiqué de presse ALG 2017

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Espaco Gallery – SQUIB – Press release ALG 2017

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Tom Bogaert – Wonderfully Pac Manic – Flanders Arts Institute BEL 2017

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Anissa Mahdaoui – Dream City Tunis – HuffPost TUN 2017

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Michel Marie Murphy and Baptist Lefebvre – HA HA – Make8believe Magazine CH-US 2017

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Anissa Mahdaoui – Jaou Tunis 2017 – HuffPost TUN 2017

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Séverin Guelpa – Matza Kerkennah – Feuille de salle TUN 2017

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Thalia Vrachopoulos and Harry Savopoulos – The Right to Be Human – Catalogue GRC 2017

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Rachel Dedman and Ayman Hassan – Halcyon – ELSE journal USA 2017

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Dunia El-Zobaidi – Arab Science Fiction – The Arab Weekly UK 2016

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Pablo Assandri – pepsi, cola, water? – Videoex CH 2016

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TUL and Galerie FJ – Bogaert à Casablanca – Flyer MAR 2016

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TUL and Gallerie FJ – Bogaert in Casablanca – Press release MAR 2016

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Melanie Kress – Voyage, voyage – Essay USA 2016

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Platform 010 – Where to Now? – Ibraaz UK 2016

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Reda El Mawy – pepsi, cola, water? – BBC Arabic UK 2016

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Richard Fleming and Jake Nussbaum – Tom Bogaert, Rocket #9 – Clocktower Radio USA 2016

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Carole Diop and Pascale Obolo – Politics of Sound – Afrikadaa Magazine FRA 2015

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The Brief – Ghetto Biennale – Art in America USA 2015

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Paul Clammer – Sun Ra in Haiti – Lonely Planet UK 2015

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Maison de la Culture de Sidi Bouzid – Tom Bogaert – Communiqué de presse TUN 2015

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Maison de la Culture de Sidi Bouzid – the one invented, twisted animator – Postcard TUN 2015

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Maison de la Culture de Sidi Bouzid – Tom Bogaert – Press release TUN 2015

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Lucas Cantori – Utopiana Plantopic – Catalogue CH 2015

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Exhibition Initiative – Post Internet is dead – Exhibition essay USA 2015

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Laura Lecce and Fabrizio Vagirei – 1971, Sun Ra in Egypt – Pelagica Magazine ITA 2015

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Rikke Luna & Matias – Spring Exhibition – Idoart DK 2015

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Holland Cotter – Respond at Smack Mellon – New York Times USA 2015

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Ali Shamseddine & John Rich – New Syrian National Archive – E-flux journal USA 2014

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Medrar TV – Sun Ra in Egypt, 1971 – Jadaliyya USA 2014

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CN Kugler – Heart of Darkness – Press release CH 2014

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CN Kugler – Au cœur des ténèbres – Communiqué de presse CH 2014

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Marwa Morgan – Art exhibition celebrates Egypt-obsessed mystic – Daily News EGY 2014

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Rowan El-Shimi – Exhibition on Sun Ra opens in Cairo – AhramOnline EGY 2014

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Nahed Samir – Sun Ra at Medrar – Underground Albawabhnews EGY 2014

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Medrar – 1971, Sun Ra in Egypt – Companion to the exhibition EGY 2014

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Boyuan Gao – Tom Bogaert International – Project Inkblot USA 2014

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David Frohnapfel – The 3rd Ghetto Biennale – Artlink AUS 2014

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Myriam Vanneschi – Contradictions of a “Ghetto Biennale” – Hyperallergic USA 2013

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Emmanuel Lambion – I could have lived here – Catalogue BEL 2013

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Robin Coupland – Egyptian sun and a hill of mice – TBS CH 2013

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Ahmed Elhawary – Sun Ra in Egypt – Almasry Alyoum EGY 2013

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Ibraaz – February Newsletter – Ibraaz UK 2013

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Jörg Köppl – Interview with Tom Bogaert – Radio Lewa EGY 2013

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Thais Medeiros – Rebuscopter – Flyer BRA 2013

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Tom Bogaert – de Arabische Lengte – MO magazine BEL 2012

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Anthony Downey – An Accidental Orientalist – Ibraaz UK 2012

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al Hoash – And Did Those Feet – Companion to the Exhibition PAL 2012

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TWIP – And Did Those Feet – This Week in Palestine PAL 2012

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al Hoash – And Did Those Feet – postcard PAL 2012

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BAM – And did those feet – press release BEL 2012

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Irena Pivka and MC Brane – Radio Arts Space – Österreichischer Rundfunk AUT 2012

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Christina Ryan – Between Ebal & Gerzim – aliendog.net CAN 2012

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Vera Tamari and Yazid Anani – Between Ebal and Gerzim – Catalogue PAL 2011

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Universes in Universe – Ant Farm Nablus – Nafas Art Magazine GER 2011

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Rasha Hirzallah – Between Ebal and Gerzim – Wafa News Agency PAL 2011

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Sani P. Meo – Between Ebal and Gerzim – This Week in Palestine PAL 2011

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Andrew Spalding – Wet Floor / Piso Mojado – Review:Amman JOR 2011

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Ahmad Zatari – Fascinated by Cracks – Al-Akhbar LEB 2011

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Maya Ghandour Hert – L’art de Bogaert en 3 installations – L’Orient Le Jour LEB 2011

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Chirine Lahoud – Trade in your plastic lenses for ice – The Daily Star LEB 2011

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Zico House – Cracked – Press Release LEB 2011

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Art in Odd Places – Double Portraits – Catalog USA 2011

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Asile Asso – Idols and Heroes – Catalogue JOR 2011

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Eltiqa – Piso Mojado para Gaza – press release PAL 2011

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Makan Art Space – Nuts by the Creek – Flyer UAE 2011

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Art Dubai – Makan Art Space – Catalogue UAE 2011

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Anneliis Beadnell – Critical Brief IPO from Syria – Artist for Artist USA 2010

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Ilaria Lupo – Bir Zeit: Stazione Palestina – Nena ITA 2010

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Al-Mahatta Gallery – Ariel – Catalogue PAL 2010

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Reem Maghribi – The Jordanian Cucumber – Baladna SYR 2010

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Wesley Gibson – Sweetness and Light – Catalogue USA 2010

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Khalid Abdel-Hadi – Tom’s Cucumbers – My.Kali.mag JOR 2010

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Linda Griggs – The Back Room Biennial – curatorial statement USA 2010

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John Lillywhite – Cucumbers and Kompressors – JO magazine JOR 2010

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Ahmad Zatari – Jordanian Exhibition Combines Art and Politics – Al-Akhbar LEB 2010

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Rasmi Al-Jarrah – Impressions – Al-Rai JOR 2010

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Maha Al-Sharif – What’s a Cucumber? – The Star JOR 2010

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Khaled Sameh – Option or Cucumber – Al-Dostor JOR 2010

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Marisa Jahn – Companion – Exhibition Essay USA 2010

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Francine Kay Affourtit – Elizabeth Foundation Open Studios – Press Release USA 2009

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Serge Poliart – Nouvelles d’Anvers – el batia moûrt soû BEL 2009

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Sharon Butler – Archeology of Wonder – Two Coats of Paint USA 2009

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James H. Burnett – Artwork sunk by Coast Guard – The Miami Herald USA 2008

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Tom Ronse – Non-Existing Art in Miami – De Morgen BEL 2008

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Joseph Coelho – Grading Empire state-building – NYU USA 2008

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Tom Bogaert – Empire state-building – NYU USA 2008

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Jessica Feldman – Live and Active – Exhibition Essay USA 2008

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Katherine Dolgy Ludwig – When Canaries Face The Cat – NY Arts Magazine USA 2008

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Tom Ronse – Fascinating Belgians In New York – De Morgen BEL 2008

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Rebecca White – 3,2,1 … Canaries blast off into space – Courier Life USA 2008

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Donald O. Carroll – Amahoro – Exhibition Essay USA 2008

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Holland Cotter – The Creative Spirit… – New York Times USA 2008

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Sara Reisman – The Space Between – Exhibition Essay USA 2007

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Jo-Anne Raskin – Boro Diversity Shows… – Queens Tribune USA 2007

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Juliana Driever – Trans – Exhibition Essay USA 2007

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Anne Smets – Cake Alarm in New York – Het Belang BEL 2007

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Koen Snoeckx – Nothing To Declare – Het Belang BEL 2007

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Hans Maarten Post – Artist Smuggles Bomb… – De Standaard BEL 2007

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DAC – Art under the Bridge – Festival Program – USA 2007

Tom Bogaert documented genocide and human rights abuses in Africa and Asia for fourteen years as a lawyer for Amnesty International and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Five years ago, he resigned to become an artist.


Jack the Pelican is pleased to present “Amahoro,” the first one-person exhibition of Belgian artist Tom Bogaert. “Amahoro” is the Rwandan word for peace. It is a greeting, exchanged by people passing on the street.


Bogaert offers us a strongly uncomfortable mixture of tragedy and farce. On the one hand, he takes on immensely difficult subjects, including the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, in which as many as 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and their moderate Hutu sympathizers were killed. Then, there are the astronaut canaries…


The artist does not see his artwork as an extension of his human rights work, though it directly confronts the intersection of human rights, entertainment and propaganda. Given his background and history, an autobiographical reading is to some extent unavoidable.


It should be noted that the artist is white. He understands that the issue of race in his work is problematic. Harsh self-examination and -criticism is certainly evident. In the end, there is very little moral higher ground for him to be left standing on. Bogaert is operating here, to the best of his abilities, squarely within the tradition of (political) art and aiming a mostly complacent contemporary art audience. He has no formal art training. The entertainment components of the show are not necessarily to be trusted at face value. This is an exhibition that we hope will provoke serious reflection.


Tom Bogaert’s 2004 video This Is Rwanda appears on a gameboy, with actual footage of the massacre presented as a graphically-enticing, pumped-up video game. As Bogaert notes, you cannot talk about the genocide without talking about the role of the media. For 100 days, the popular radio station RTLM stirred the killers to action with a lively mix of entertainment and hate. “Kill the cockroaches,” blared one DJ, “they are coming to take your country,” and then, on to a catchy tune. The station broadcast death tallies like sports scores and even detailed the exact whereabouts of fleeing victims for others to track down and slay. The Genocide was especially horrific, because much of the killing was done with machetes. They were imported from England for the purpose.


In this work and others, Bogaert takes on Eurocentric perceptions of a rudderless third-world humanity, impulsively acting out ancient ritual blood feuds. He is deeply struck by the recurrence in the popular imagination and media of primitive Malthusian socio-economic theories of populations swelling uncontrollably. In direct reference to the conceit, Bogaert presents a giant swooning mound of black licorice mice, fighting their way to the top. The rhythmic surging within the piece gorgeously resembles braided afro hair. In another piece, black licorice mice cover a turntable. As the needle bumps along over their backs, it generates a rhythmic pounding eerily reminiscent of African drums. The title Black Noise alludes to a blatantly racist emotional disconnect. It is also the technical term for silence.


With intoxicating fear, mingled with the satisfaction of being safely afar, we are made to consume visions of masses reproducing and killing one another with libidinal frenzy. Contrary to widely held perceptions, however, the Rwandan Genocide was not about the spontaneous eruption of age-old tribal rivalries. The situation was deliberately orchestrated by political leaders and planned months in advance. They systematically fomented fear and played it for all it was worth.


Fear is a very real emotion. And, to Bogaert’s way of thinking, so is hope. We are bombarded every day with messages that play on our sentimental longing for a better world for ourselves and our loved ones. The artist addresses this issue in his sculptural installation Canary Space Station—a fantastic space ship complex he has cobbled together from dozens of garden variety bid cages. He uses real canaries. They are on a mission to a faraway paradise, where they will live evermore in piece and harmony. This is their ship and their technology. Presumably, it will work. On the surrounding walls, Bogaert presents the posters that sparked their quest. Canary space posters, by canaries, for canaries—canary propaganda. It is to us humans perhaps more curious than compelling. Bogaert plays us. The birds’ sweetness elicits our affection. But they are so innocent, so naive. We are outside their economy of desire. But, if that’s what they want, maybe they will make it. Probably not. But don’t we recognize ourselves?


In 1963, Hannah Arendt coined the term “banality of evil” to characterize Adolf Eichmann’s role in the Holocaust. She saw the epic horror as driven by countless little men, average citizens uncritically complicit with their countless little acts. It was bureaucratic. In the postmodern world, by contrast, evil comes to us in highly entertaining forms. As Bogaert observes, propaganda nowadays is sickeningly sweet. Let’s face it.


Don Carroll – Jack the Pelican Presents – January 2008

Donald O. Carroll – Amahoro – Exhibition Essay USA 2008