Kasper Bosmans artwork
The artwork Zinneke by Kasper Bosmans can be seen at the Brucity Administrative Centre of the City of Brussels (Rue des Halles 4 - 1000 Brussels).
Zinneke, 2022
Artist: Kasper Bosmans
1990, Lommel, Belgium. Lives and works in Brussels.
The history of the river Senne, which once flowed through the site of the Brucity Administrative Centre, is the starting point for the work Zinneke by artist Kasper Bosmans. Two discoveries particularly caught the artist's attention: a 10th century millstone unearthed during archaeological excavations prior to the building's construction, and the presence on the site of an old dog-racing track that hosted races until the early 1950s.
Bosmans has thus designed an abstract enamel dog track for Brucity's two atriums. The installation is rounded off by circular elements calling to mind the shape of the 10th century millstone. These elements, made of terrazzo - a building material consisting of fragments of salvaged marble mixed with cement - feature carved representations of dogs.
In the 19th century, zinneke was the name given to stray dogs. The expression was later used to describe people living in Brussels who had not been born there. Nowadays, the word zinneke is used to describe the inhabitants of Brussels and thus celebrates the diversity of the city's population. The 'zinnekes' on the enamel racetrack are named after the dogs of local residents.
The artist perfectly sums up his vision of the relationship between man and nature: "There's something very mesmerizing about the way in which we use animals in order to express ourselves. We feel like we have an empathic bond with pets and cattle, but they are never able to reply or interact with us in the way we can interact with thém. So there is a violent or abusive imbalance of power; an animal is used for personal intimacy. It's a thing we nearly attribute a soul to, but we prevent ourselves from doing so since it would ruin this powerful relationship. That's why I'm so attracted to animals and pets."
Kasper Bosmans was born in Lommel, Belgium, where he currently works. Solo exhibitions of Bosmans' work have been held all over the world and in institutions such as the WIELS Centre for Contemporary Art (Brussels, Belgium), HAL (Haarlem, Netherlands), S.M.A.K (Ghent, Belgium), Kunstinstituut Melly (Rotterdam, Netherlands), Centrale for Contemporary Art (Brussels, Belgium), CIAP (Brussels, Belgium) and MuHKA (Antwerp, Belgium).
A major monograph of Bosmans' work has been published by Walther König, tracing a decade of Bosmans' artistic practice and production.
