Revisited (2011)
21 OIL PAINTINGS, LEGO SCULPTURE, MIRROR
Vercammen painted his museum room in ‘his’ tricolour. In the middle painting the colours of the Belgian flag return once more, as does the famous motto from his oeuvre: ‘Made in Belgium. Toujours en retard’. The Belgian discourse of deprivation, used ad nauseam, thus becomes a trademark. Furthermore, the room offers an overview of Vercammen’s most iconic conceptual paintings. In Post Para Neo and The Most Ultramodern Natural and Original Artificial Artwork, he parodies the originality requirement inherent to the avant-garde paradigm of the past century. In other works (such as Oil & Mixed Media on Canvas or A Well Considered Artwork), he shatters the illusion of painting and draws full attention to matter itself. In the centre of the room is a Lego figure. The ageing artist – after the death of his mother-rediscovers the toys of his childhood. The mirror floor, enlarging the museum room, reinforces the subtle suggestion that the circle is almost complete.