Sourdough bread lined with blue cornmeal and a pink border of fresh strawberry jam, a serrated knife made from diseased boxwood and a honey spoon crafted from a discarded Christmas tree, served on a reglazed plate made from shards.
Tine Colen
Our Daily Bread
2024
On the occasion of Antwerp Art Weekend 2024, The Oracle Gallery wants to function as a ‘bakery’ and will ask participating artists of AAW24 to bake a bread which will be presented, some in a performative way, in the gallery space. Visitors can stop by for their ‘daily bread’ during the weekend. A fine line is created and one does not know if one enters a gallery space presenting bread or a bakery portraying art. And what does art taste like? How does it influence one’s daily experience? Bread has always been synonymous with wealth, destitution, God and the mundane. The bakery can be seen as a political and spiritual foundation for society… The artistic and cultural relevance of bread is as strong today as it has always been. Bread has appeared in art throughout history. The importance of bread for survival meant that it also symbolised spiritual sustenance. A great example is The Last Supper as portrayed by Da Vinci, where the bread symbolises the body of Christ, symbol of eternal life. Vermeer, Van Gogh, Magritte, Velasquez, Dalì, Caravaggio and others have all included bread in their paintings. Bread created the structure of our modern-day society and our way of living. Our daily bread will be delivered at Het Orakel during the AAW24 as a festive experience.
Baguette! Now!
Bread on flyer: Laura Geurten, Groot Rogge Tarwe, 38 x 40 cm, 2021
Artists delivering bread: Sigurrós G. Björnsdóttir, Machteld Bernaert, Tine Colen, Hadas Cnaani, Huiskamer, Ksanoshka Fyodorovna, Laura Geurten, Kiara Govaert, Liesbet Grupping, Albert Pepermans, Guy Rombouts, Lieven Segers, Bruno Silva, Johanna Trudzinski, Roberta Dos Santos, Joke Van Canneyt, Janine Vandebosch, Tom Vansant, Mieke Verbijlen, Benjamin Verdonck, Liesbet Waegemans
Works
About
After her training in the medium of painting, Tine Colen (1985) felt the need not to simply represent or imitate the world, but to be in the midst of things. Gradually, the following elements became characteristic of her work: The blurring of boundaries between art and functional objects by creating items that carry meaning and can sometimes be used / working with natural materials in a cyclical process, often defined by their temporary, seasonal nature, as well as human-made materials considered waste / seeking specific knowledge about plant usage through the study of ethnobotany and anthropology / a slow and labor-intensive making process, rooted in collective creation / generating value through the way objects are used, gifted, and passed on / using public space as a workshop, where the physical work sparks conversation, encounters, and change.