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.