Hans Op de Beeck

The subject matter of Staging Silence II, a video work by internationally acclaimed Belgian artist Hans Op de Beeck, consists of miniature dioramas depicting deserted scenarios that are built by anonymous hands, working with meticulous precision.
In this piece, Hans Op de Beeck explores the relationship between representation and recognition. The sceneries are constructed from materials and objects taken from everyday life. Chocolate, potatoes, sugar and plastic bottles make up the building blocks of the scenes, creating optical illusions that make the constructions appear almost realistic.
Hans Op de Beeck is fascinated by the ways in which man stages and constructs his life and surroundings. Thematically, his works highlight the strained relationship we have to time, space, and each other. According to Op de Beeck, this relationship is turbulent due to globalization and changes caused by technological developments, affecting everyday life. Hans Op de Beeck works with a mix of different media, such as installation, sculpture, film, drawing, animation, painting, and text. In Staging Silence II, notions of memory and the relationship between time and space are examined. And his manipulations with scale make way for an exploration of the relationship between the things that are visible, the things we wish to believe in, and the things we ourselves have created.
Hans Op de Beeck was born in Turnhout, Belgium (1969), and lives and works in Brussels. He has a Master’s Degree in Visual Arts from the Higher Institute Sint-Lukas in Brussels. Throughout the last decade, Op de Beeck has established a significant, international carrier with a long list of solo and group exhibitions. However, this is the first time his work is exhibited in a Danish context.