Center and Periphery, a solo exhibition by Sam Eggermont.

‘Where do we stand?’ is an important question for Eggermont, but the question ‘how did we end up here?’ is possibly even more important. In his contemporary, strongly socially-motivated artistic practice he doesn’t so much occupy the narrow space of the ‘here and now’ as he makes leaps and bounds (‘migrations’, if you like) to other times and places, bringing the far-away near and transforming the near to something intangible, an ever-shifting collection of fragmentary influences and histories. He has resolved to tell ‘a story about the story’, taking in a broad-ranging sample of rough outlines of maps, histories and human perspectives. Where he, as an involved but impartial witness, will end up, is already foreshadowed by the legend of Princess Europa and the clear parallels between the historical, economic and cultural realities of the past. In Europa’s time, the cradle of civilization underwent a shift from the Near East to the West: modern-day Europe. The migration of the young princess from Asia to the Greek coast and the later incorporation of Christian tradition from Jerusalem thus symbolises both the constant shift of civilisational power and the plurality by which it has always been characterised.

Read the whole text here (pdf).