Venue

Born 1969 in Turnhout, Belgium.
Lives and works in Brussels, Belgium

Hans Op de Beeck composes miniature or gigantic worlds, either empty or populated with anonymous beings. These spaces – between stillness and motion – offer moments of wonder and silence. For the Lyon Biennale, the artist is making an immersive, entirely grey installation that looks like a derelict campsite or a run-down urban park covered in ash. The title, We Were the Last to Stay, refers to the final inhabitants who remain in this community space when the dream of a shared life has lost its impetus and the once-animated place has sadly emptied. The petrified ensemble, like a ghost town, can be perceived as a huge memento mori – a reminder of the irretrievable passage of time and the vanity of human existence.

Also on view at Musée Gadagne.