Mondo Cane is the title of the exhibition by Brussels artists Jos de Gruyter and Harald Thys that represented the Belgian pavilion and won a special mention award during the last Venice Art Biennial in 2019 is now showing at the Bozar in Brussels.
On one side, this exhibition showcases a reassuring world, with familiar craftsmen of yesteryear, working their old trades and on the other, a darker and more disturbing side , populated with the psychotic or mentally ill, common criminals, collaborators, spies or souls possessed of by devil. To add to the general feeling of discomfort, about half of these dolls are automated, performing repetitive actions as you move around. A bit of the Adventures of Tintin but for adults, if you like…
This exhibit is held at the Bozar only until 21st of July 2020
Pictures of the “Mondo Cane†Exposition
The Knife-Grinder of Wexford
Franceline De Veugeleir
Mosquetero sin dinero of his real name Raf Smulkens
De Belder Guido, the inventor of Magical Abstract Realist Romanticism
Closeup on the face of De Belder Guido, the painter
The Rat woman
At her feet the rat and the filth
The face of the rat woman
Rocco Swenty Di Malaga, the ventriloquist
Jacobina Bienebol, the daugher of the preacher
Closep-up on the face of Jacobina Bienebol
Ilse Koch
The Swiss murderer
The face of Klottemans
Irmgard Speck, the introverted
Closer look at the detail of the face of Irmgard Speck
Flip standing on the cart
Kristinus Oplinus, the devout catholic turned Satan’s spawn
Bartholomeus De Bie, the bell man
Ernst Wollemenger, the STASI spy
Ernst Wollemenger doll close-up
Samuel Simons playing the piano
Reverand Simons
Madame Legrand, the German collaborator
