THE PLASTIC NUMBER
BEN VAN DEN BERGHE & ALEXEY SHLYK
The Plastic Number is as much an archaeological site as a sandstorm. The visitor is as much a researcher as an artefact subjected to analysis. This precisely reveals the poetry in The Plastic Number: a chiasmus of similar and contradictory spatialities.
— Bob Vanden Broeck
With their installation, artists Ben Van den Berghe (BE) and Alexey Shlyk (BY) converted the exhibition space of KRIEG into an oasis exploring escapist aesthetics. In this transformation process, Van den Berghe and Shlyk were inspired by the quest of the Dutch monk and architect Dom Hans Van der Laan (1904–1991) into the essence of spiritual architecture. Through empiric experiments Van der Laan discovered a ratio he called the ‘plastic number’. It enables the architect to compose spatial scales in harmony with each other, like the tones within a musical key.
Inspired by Van der Laan’s methodology, the artists set off their own search of how we experience (artificial) space. They developed their concept of ‘photographic architecture’ resulting in a playful and eclectic photo- and sound installation.
Besides a completely new installation, the artists worked also on a new artists’ book (limited edition), together with graphic designer Edi Winarni and author Bob Vanden Broeck.
