As if in a darkroom

Group exhibition DOKA features contemporary artworks by René Heyvaert, Ann Veronica Janssens, Gerard Herman, Leyla Aydoslu and Lili Dujourie, amongst others

December 13, 2023

DOKA runs at M Leuven from 15.12 to 05.01.25

For this new collection presentation, photographer and guest curator Geert Goiris found inspiration in the darkroom: the magical place where analogue photos are developed and images are created. He curated the exhibition with artworks from the contemporary section of M’s collection, which are awakened from their dormant existence in the depot and brought back into the light. The title of the exhibition, DOKA, is the Dutch word for darkroom.

“As a transhistorical museum, M shows an exceptional mix of historic and contemporary art,” says Bert Cornillie, Alderman for Culture and Chairman of M’s board of directors. “With DOKA, and together with our guest curator Geert Goiris, we are showcasing the exceptional range of contemporary art that the museum – courtesy of Cera, the Flemish Community and the City of Leuven – has to offer. The exhibition includes some of the most distinctive voices in the Belgian art landscape, from Leyla Aydoslu to Marthe Wéry.”

For Belgian photographer Geert Goiris, DOKA marks a return to the museum after his solo exhibition in 2013. He kept a quote by the late poet Mary Oliver in mind when curating the group exhibition: “Attention is the beginning of devotion.”

“Our era is characterised by speed, distraction, looking without noticing. The exhibition focuses on the necessity and pleasure of attentive viewing,” explains Goiris. “It is an invitation to the public to question familiar physical or mental spaces, and the conventions associated with them. The artworks sharpen our senses through various strategies. They challenge us to abandon assumptions and see everyday objects or figures in a new light.”

Physical space also plays a role in the selected artworks, in the form of interiors and landscapes. They appear in numerous guises and in various works, from sculptures and installations to prints and photographs. A number of video works by Lili Dujourie form the backbone of the exhibition. They play out in real-time: the viewing time equals the duration of the recording. The videos invite stillness. Those who stay the course will experience the passage of time in a palpable way.

The development of an analogue black-and-white print – whereby only red light is allowed – takes roughly seven minutes. After that, the white light can be turned on to view the print. One by one, the exhibition halls are bathed in red light, evoking the experience of the darkroom. Each room in the exhibition is lit solely by red lamps for seven minutes. The monochromatic lighting alters our experience of the works: colours fade away, and contrast seems to increase. Shadows become deeper, details merge into the overall picture. During the red phase, we perceive the artworks in an unexpected way. At the same time, this intervention suggests that each image carries another.

Artists

The group exhibition DOKA includes works by Leyla Aydoslu, Younes Baba-Ali, Dirk Braeckman, Raphaël Buedts, Paul Casaer, Honoré d’O, Lili Dujourie, Jef Geys, Gerard Herman, René Heyvaert, Ann Veronica Janssens, Jan Kempenaers, Valérie Mannaerts, Hana Miletić, Peter Morrens, Hilde Overbergh, Ria Pacquée, Benoit Platéus, Kato Six, Gintauté Skvernyté, Walter Swennen, Joëlle Tuerlinckx, Michael Van den Abeele, Philippe Van Snick, Richard Venlet, Jan Vercruysse and Marthe Wéry.

All the artworks on display come from the collections of Cera, the Flemish Community and the city of Leuven, managed by M Leuven.

Geert Goiris

Geert Goiris lives and works in Antwerp. He travels the world in search of unusual places to interpret into enigmatic images. Inspired by the ambiguous concept of high fidelity (technology that makes itself invisible or inaudible, so to speak, to get closer to the ‘original’), he uses large-format analogue cameras and scientific films that are more sensitive than the human eye. Despite the abundant detail in his prints or projections, the feeling that something is missing always prevails. His work can be found in the collections of the Seattle Art Museum (US), Hamburger Kunsthalle (Germany), FOMU (Belgium), Centro de Arte Caja de Burgos (Spain) and Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (France), amongst others.

M Leuven, flourishing hub for contemporary art

This collection exhibition of contemporary artworks fits within M’s broader policy, whereby the collection continues to grow through new acquisitions. As of this year, the museum has placed an even greater focus on the acquisition, management and presentation of contemporary art. This aspect of the collection has recently seen an influx of works from three key sources. During the corona pandemic, M organised the support action The Constant Glitch, which resulted in some 20 acquisitions. A further 60 artworks entered the collection as long-term loans through the Flemish Community’s relance funds for contemporary artists in 2022. M also foresees further growth in this area through the City of Leuven, which will be integrated into the plans around the Heritage Decree.

Furthermore, at the end of this year, the structural cooperation with Cera will be extended. M will continue to manage and open up the Cera collection on a long-term basis. The DOKA exhibition is part of these plans and enhances M’s reputation as a home for contemporary art and heritage, especially at the collection level.

The focus of M’s contemporary collection is Belgian art. There are three sub-segments. The most important of these is Cera, with some 700 works. In addition, as a leading Flemish museum, M receives several works from the Flemish Community on long-term loan every year. The City of Leuven also invests in contemporary pieces for M, and will continue to do so in the coming years.

Opening celebration

The exhibition opens at M on Thursday, 14.12.23. Admission is free and there is no need to register in advance.

Start: 20:00

Double opening

In parallel with DOKA, M is also presenting the work of M-resident Anna van der Ploeg. Anna van der Ploeg was M’s artist-in-residence at Cas-co from March to August 2023. For five months she immersed herself in her artistic practice and developed new work. Combining elements of sculpture with painting and printmaking, she creates her own method of carving, painting and bending plywood. Her work is driven by the observation of moments of inter-relation and the role language plays in these exchanges.

Van der Ploeg has been collecting handmade posters for years. She perceives them as a material residue of a desire to be heard, a thought or message that is sent into the world. Inspired by a particular poster that touched her deeply, and a scroll in M's collection, Van der Ploeg created a series of new sculptures. The presentation in M unlocks Van der Ploeg’s new work and latest experiments. It runs until 3 March 2024.