Reverse(D) Radicalism at Tatjana Pieters

Artists: Charles Degeyter, Olga Fedorova, Indrikis Gelzis, Brendan Lynch, Caroline Schattling Villeval

Exhibition title: Reverse(D) Radicalism

Venue: Tatjana Pieters, Ghent, Belgium

Date: April 21 – June 2, 2024

Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artists and Tatjana Pieters

Tatjana Pieters is pleased to welcome you to ‘Reverse(d) Radicalism’, a 5-person exhibition curated by Tatjana Pieters, with works by Charles Degeyter, Olga Fedorova, Indrikis Gelzis, Brendan Lynch & Caroline Schattling Villeval.

‘Radicalism’, which comes from the Latin word ‘radix’ meaning ‘root’, gives the sense of a ‘root and branch’ or fundamental approach to politics, rather than one that ‘makes do and mend’. Radicalism suggests complete rather than gradual change. In the mid-nineteenth century, those liberals wishing to show how progressive they were, described themselves as ‘Radicals’. Although traditionally associated with the left,‘Radicalism’ is also used as a label to describe extreme right-wing parties. (Source: https:// www.abdn.ac.uk/radicalism/understanding.shtml)

With this exhibition I invite the viewer to reflect on the radicalism of our time and I wish to propose a more balanced approach to change. The current state of our world shows that any change that is forced upon people, be it left, middle or right oriented, causes resistance & suffering. The gentlest way to change society is to be willing to change ourselves into more compassionate beings one step at a time, and to act upon it, from the root or essence of who we are, which is a changeable state of being.

This exhibition brings together 5 artists from different cultural backgrounds who deal with ‘at the root of society’s topics like motherhood, wellbeing, life & death, Western conventions, transience, the non-traditional, restructuring reality & identity,… in a playful, aesthetic, provoking, innovative way. New approaches to image making are combined with a renewed experience of known subjects & mediums.

I look forward to welcoming you into a world that envisions the peaceful coexistence of multiple perspectives & beings, aiming to create a society in which we can all be who we want to be without having to be radical.