Interventions/Carl Demeulenaere
CARL DEMEULENAERE, born 1956
A Folly, 1995
wood installation with four paintings.
The title of Demeulenaere's installation refers to imaginative architectural constructions, known as follies, that originated in 16th-century Europe. Set within garden landscapes, follies were meant to inspire moods.
The placement of Demeulenaere work conceptually transforms the surrounding gallery into a "garden" of art. A sense of reverence is evoked by placing paintings inside the shrinelike structure. In this way the work becomes a metaphor for the notion that human experience resides within.
Demeulenaere's piece has tragic overtones. It expresses the artist's concern with contemporary social responses to specific minorities and homosexuality.
The work explores men's relationships
with other men, focusing on shared
struggles, spiritual connectedness,
friendship and love. Inside, the oil
painting titled La Via Dolorosa (The
Path of Sorrows) depicts a Jewish and
Christian male couple retracing Christ's
path to Calvary.
Carl Demeulenaere
"A Folly"
