Open Space 2024
16 February 2024 - 16 June 2024
Simon Bultynck
Since 2019, visual artist Simon Bultynck has been working on his series of ‘symbols’ by collecting thought-provoking word combinations and translating them into steel sculptures, among other things. As part of Open Space, he presents his work May the Deaf Hear It Screaming, which responds to the possibilities of language and text and encourages visitors to reflect on the boundaries between presence and absence, and between idea and matter.
May the Deaf Hear It Screaming
Can there be text without context? Meaning without duality? Or could text also reflect a hollowness, a meaningful emptiness? Since 2019, Simon Bultynck has been working on a collection of evocative phrases. Initially published under the title Another Story Told or Untold, some have manifested as steel sculptures.
In his presentation at Gallery 3, Bultynck will present the sculpture May the Deaf Hear It Screaming, a meandering structure whose polished surfaces and precision-cut text create an interplay of solidity and void that invites contemplation. The work serves as both an object and a gateway, encouraging viewers to explore the fluid boundary between the tangible and the hollow.
The sculpture is accompanied by a two-channel video featuring 16mm footage of the work in an outdoor setting. Through alternating close-ups, the installation thoughtfully captures how the laser-cut phrases leave behind hollow impressions – a subtle absence that amplifies their presence.
About Simon Bultynck
Simon Bultynck has an MA in Indian languages and cultures from the University of Ghent. Driven by his deep fascination with language, he has developed a body of work that revolves around the themes of duality, ideology and linguistic relativity. His artistic practice includes sculpture, painting, video and furniture. Bultynck lives and works in Ghent and Ronse, Belgium.