Performance: Joost Pauwaert, Apocalyptical Carousel
Going out with a bang: we literally did so during the finissage weekend of F**klore, with the performance Apocalyptical Carousel by Joost Pauwaert (1985, Bretzenheim, DE).
Saw blades, anvils, bombs, and cannons take centre stage in his art. In Apocalyptical Carousel (also presented as a video work in the exhibition F**klore. Reinventing Tradition), these destructive forces took the shape of a life-sized carousel whose parts exploded and burned away one by one.
Where we traditionally associate the folkloric carousel with joy and amusement, here it assumed a destructive, violent character—yet from its smouldering remains, an intriguing beauty was revealed once more. The Kortrijk Brass Band heightened the spectacle even further.
