Some of the artists in the inaugural exhibition, such as Caledonia Dance Curry, aka Swoon, published in many occasions since 1999 on METALOCUS, whose first works began as illegal street works and urban works, and now hang their works in the MoMA in New York.
"Not to say That I do not think legal murals are good, but the only way to be truly free is to be outside of the limitations of the law; outside of the laws of commerce as well. Legal walls are fine, fine exhibitions are, aim to always be there has a current of spontaneous totally unsanctioned phrase running through our lives. This is the place where the truth will be told."
Swoon
CITY LIGHTS also serves as a manifesto for MIMA. Meeting, for the first time in a European institution, Swoon, Maya Hayuk, MOMO and the artistic duo FAILE offer a multi-dimensional picture of culture 2.0, the cosmopolitan spirit of our museum.
The Chaplin film ‘City Lights’ is a fitting metaphor for the artist’s’ life. The opening of the 1931 film, city lights, evokes the consumerist charms of a seductive and merciless city, which subjugates the rich and the poor to loneliness. Except The Tramp, the celestial wanderer who frees the heart of the blind humble flower girl (solitude personified), by playing the clown. In the end we are left to wonder whether the title ‘city lights’ refers to the reallife characters that inspired the famous tramp? In short, the victory of inner beauty over ostentatiousness, or authenticity over pretense.
There are similarities with the careers of the five artists. They acquired notoriety first and foremost by probing and questioning the landscape of urban life, with both legal and illegal interventions. Through these interventions they developed a visual language that communicates with its audience in a playful, empathic, collaborative and direct way.
The exhibition highlights the relationship between the artist’s own aesthetic and his desire to communicate with his audience.Each installation presented at MIMA leads you into a unique world.In the room called “room diamant” or just the “chapel” because of its unique architecture, Maya Hayuk plunges the viewer into a sensory explosion of light and color. By painting the walls and the ceiling and superimposing them with colours, Swoon creates a motif that is in dialogue with the space. Swoon invites the viewer to the other side of the assemblage, to descend into a labyrinthine cave where we discover an expressionist theater of motifs and cutout paper figures. Pasted perfectly onto the wall, the fragility and complexity of the works stands in stark contrast with the crumbling city walls. The interactive sculptures of Faille, resemble (because of their shape), Asian prayer wheels. They could be described as pagan pop altars depicting the desire and consumption of us poor sinners. Momo invites you into yet another dimension with his fine and elongated sculptures which are a central feature of his mural paintings. The video examines the tools with which he creates his universe of abstract geometries. “God is in the detail”, he says, and he hides intricate sketches and photos in his murals, which wait to be discovered. The strength of this exhibition does not reside in the means of production, or in the cost, but in the palpable generosity with which they, the artists and their assistants, have mounted CITY LIGHTS. The projects are spectacular and are a testimony to the effort that went into them. The infinite layers of paint on the walls of Maya Hayuk are perfect evidence of just this. The video of MOMO exposes the artistry of the tenacious technique required by the artist to obtain perfect curves. The imposing wooden prayer wheel is decorated with incredibly detailed basreliefs across its entire surface. The works by Swoon necessitate lengthy and dedicated preparation for what is in essence only a temporary exhibition. The temporary installation underlines the artist’s engagement with the public. Just like in city life, it prioritises the moment over the oeuvre.
This experience is often sought by those who understand the codes and values of a hyperconnected society ruled by a continuous flux of information. Authenticity, empathy, collaboration, sharing, transversality are the common characteristics of the artists of the CITY LIGHTS exhibition who themselves are rewriting our culture. Their make do attitude expressed in their work is now picked up by social networks globally. Like David Bowie sang:”We can be heroes, just for one day” and that’s not a bad start.
The building.
“Old Molenbeek” extends out beyond the walls of the commercial activity of the Rue de Flandre and the Place Sainte-Catherine. Between 1826 and 1832 following the opening of the Charleroi canal the industrialisation of this neighborhood began to take shape. By the mid-19th century, Sint-Jans-Molenbeek had become the most dynamic industrial suburb of Brussels.
At the turn of the 20th century, the area enjoyed a wide variety of functions, ranging from businesses to homes, through to factories, warehouses and mills. In this urban complex maze there eventually developed, large scale industrial sites such as breweries, rope manufacturers and heavy metal plants.
The early 20th century also brought significant migration. The surrounding rural population headed to the city in search of work and prosperity. Across the span of a century, between 1846 and 1946, the population of Molenbeek grew from just 12,000 to 42,000 inhabitants, of which over 30,000 were workers. This exodus necessarily caused urban redevelopment. Soon an entire network of family housing and side streets came to light. This rapid population growth and the resulting decline in living conditions became the cause of regular riots and uprisings in the district, mostly concerned with demanding improvements to the social conditions.
The particular atmosphere and the industrial architecture of red bricks earned this part of town the nickname “Little Manchester” or “Belgian Manchester”.
1916 -1966 Louis and Emile de Coster – brewery “Le Cornet de Poste”
In 1916, the Coster brothers, Louis and Emile , left the Rue des Fabriques where since 1865 they had a Geuze brewery, entitled “The post horn”. They strategically positioned themselves along the canal, allowing them to brew beer while easily transporting and collecting the grain by boat. At that time, the building was bordered by water on both sides, the front facing the Canal Charleroi while the rear was bordered by the Little Senne. The latter would be filled-in in early 1930.
During its first construction phase in 1916, the brewery was composed of five main buildings: stables (for hauling horses), the malting factory, the kiln, the dispensing areas and finally the brewery.
Between 1931 and 1935 the second phase of the site was visioned by Brussels architect René lock. The different areas of the building were redeveloped to accommodate the cycle of beer production and as a result ancillary spaces were added. So much so that in 1935 the building no longer counted only five, but boasted seven production areas: the warehouses, the store, the silo, the drums, cleaning space, brewery, offices and a bottling factory. Lock adhered closely to the rational style in his design, in keeping with the typical industrial-inspired facades of 19th architecture.
At the forefront of modernity with their state of the art brewery, the brothers Coster then focused their attention on the production of geuze. The company survived the Second World War, despite difficult working conditions… in 1944, the German army even installed an AAA battery on the roof of the brewery, facing. Eventually, the Coster family sold the brewery to the Vanden Stocks in 1969 and at that point a new chapter of the building’s history began.
From 1969 to 1991 Philemon and Constant Vanden Stock – brewery “Belle-Vue”
In 1913 Philemon Vanden Stock launched his trade as a reseller of geuze. In 1927, he took over a café named Belle-Vue in Anderlecht. Moreover, it was the latter that gave him the name of his future brewery. In 1943, he bought the brewery ‘Your Kina’ from the Molenbeek-Saint-Jean council and launched into production. Arrested in 1944, Philemon Vanden Stock was sent to the concentration camps from which he would never return. But his son, Constant, then took over.
Constant Vanden Stock decided to tackle restarting the production of beer. Different take overs of breweries followed, including in 1952 the brewery De Koster in Grand Bigard and 1955 Brewery Timmermans of Sint-Pieters-Leeuw.
In 1969 Constant acquired the brewery de Coster along the canal. A significant part of Belle-Vue breweries activity moved to the Quai du Hainaut. 1980 was a prosperous period. At the height of production, the site had more than 500 employees. It was also during this period, between 1971 and 1997 that Constant Vanden Stock gained popularity amongst the general public by becoming the emblematic president of RSC Anderlecht.
1991 – Today
In 1991, the Belle-Vue brewery was sold to Interbrew. At the time, it was the last great Brussels brewery and the largest Belgian Geuze Brewery. However, business quickly relocated to Sint-Pieters-Leeuw and the site of the Quai du Hainaut was used only as a warehouse for drums. In 2009, the site was finally sold.
In 2012, following the acquisition of buildings by the council and a group of private investors, conversion about the site began. The project was called “Nelson channel.” The site being huge was reassigned to fulfill multiple functions. First the Bellevue Hotel opened its doors and then the Meininger hotel.
As for MIMA, its transformation works of the original production site began in 2015 alongside the canal. The museum opened its doors to the public for the first time on 24 March 2016. This year, 2016, also marks the centenary of the building.
![SWOON. [2] Video](/sites/default/files/styles/mopis_home_news_category_slider_desktop/public/lead-images/metalocus_swoon26.webp?h=d9e3d5ec&itok=ZU1pZG3B "SWOON. [2] Video")
