Se Busca Perdido, El Ser En La Lengua
This Is Not An Ashtray, Ghent
O6.02.’21 - 12.03.’21
Papegaaistraat 48
Initiative: Gustave Demoen
A sheet of paper in a plastic protective cover, stuck to a pole or traffic
light with the words: lost pet, accompanied by a photo of the searched
animal. It is a common image that you often come across when walking
through the city. It is an image that is easily overlooked but can often
be seen by those who focus on it. There are a number of reasons why
these images attract me. If we were to divide up the sheet of paper, we
could examine various matters, ranging from: image, language and
knowledge but also the environment in which the image is perceived
plays a role in the overall picture. These four enumerated elements,
which come together in one document, in a specific environment form
an important unity for me. It shows us the condition of ‘something’
through different means of communication.
On the basis of this search message, I try to insinuate an archetype of
the lost creature. The difference between what we remember about
the animal and the actual animal is narrowed. With a general
description, the depicted subject becomes just a caricature of itself.
The casual passer-by who looks at the image sees only a
generalisation of the animal. Described in language with an image that is hardly
distinguishable (all dogs look alike). Apart from the described
character traits, the sought-after animal becomes, as it were, an image
in the encyclopaedia. The idea of an animal and the actual creature
come really close together in these search messages.