Multiple Practices intends to explore the use of the multiple (the artwork in edition) as a medium for communication and a method for conservation. For this, the research will focus on the practice of the artist Guillaume Bijl (1946).
Guillaume Bijl became well known with is 'transformation installations' (supermarkets, tourist offices, information stands, car stores...) in museums, galleries and art institutions all over the world, demonstrating his 'archaeology of the contemporary' and his fascination for the beauty of the banal. Crucial for our understanding of Bijl's artistic strategies is his use of editions and printed matter. On top if these, there are the many multiples Bijl produced in the context of a soloshow or an installation piece. These multiples are three-dimensional artworks in edition. Even more than his installation pieces, Bijl's multiples are uncanny simulations of the real, semantic hybrids that challenge our perceptions of art and/as creation.
This research and publication project intends to make an inventory and analyze this lesser known aspect of Bijl's oeuvre through a book publication, a museum exhibition and a symposium for artists and scholars
