In 2019, Chloé Op de Beeck spent a lot of time in Eupen for her first major solo exhibition at IKOB. During this time, she captured locations and corners of our hometown that often remain hidden from us because they are too ordinary, too familiar, or perhaps too unspectacular. 'Eupener Bäume' shows just that, a place that we might pass several times a day but never really notice. The film is different from what we are used to. Fast cuts and wild action do not appear in her work. Instead, she often uses fixed shots focused on slowly changing subjects. Ultimately, it is the real and everyday situations of waiting, silence, and inactivity that she elevates to aesthetically refined moments, which one enjoys watching. By waiting and questioning, she captures moments of reality that, rather than showing a revelation or an answer, prioritize the question.

About Chloé Op de Beeck:

The work of Chloé Op de Beeck (b. 1986, Belgium) consists of videos and photographs, sometimes combined with sculptural objects. She is fascinated by what takes place in the margins of the every- day, by situations of waiting, silence and non-activity. She re- cords these moments to then present them in a spatial context. In this manner, she creates video installations in which cine- matic elements are deconstructed and unfold as fragments in an exhibition space. Her collage-like, associative way of work- ing results in work that verges on narrativity, without telling a real story. Recent exhibitions include The Fountain Show at Kunsthal Mechelen (Belgium), Plaatsbeschrijvingen / Outlines, with Judith Herman at Filmhuis Klappei, Antwerp (Belgium), Ara realis irrealis at SR #270, SECONDroom, Antwerp (Belgium), Aperto o chiuso, with Karina Beumer at Casa Mimi, Ferrara (Italy) Artefact: Alone together at STUK, Leuven (Belgium), And then we take it from here at IKOB, Eupen (Belgium)

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Chloé Op de Beeck, Eupener Bäume, 2019, film still.