In a Long Blink of an Eye

Artists: Hanane El Farissi / Katya Ev / Helen Anna Flanagan / Che-Yu Hsu / Nikolay Karabinovych / Diego Lama / Štefan Papčo / Oussama Tabti / Luca Vanello / Shirley Villavicencio Pizango

Curator: Daniella Géo

Time is deeply ingrained in our perception and experience of it and yet completely independent from both. While time follows its course, our memory of it varies according to how we compartmentalize it. The two-year program just completed by the ten artists featured in this exhibition is a paradigmatic case. This is not entirely due to the unprecedented differences between 2019 and 2020, a year that has so far been dictated by the coronavirus pandemic. So much has happened since their first days at the HISK, that it seems as if time has both flicked by and been stretched out. 

The exhibition title refers to the contradictions embedded in our relationship to time and how it can affect our outlook. It is no coincidence that the title also reflects the fact that this show is mostly composed of time-based works and/or pieces in which time is an essential element of their concept, elaboration or poetics. The notion that time is not simply lived in linearity is also echoed by the physical and rhythmical aspects of the expography, which unfolds a sinuous course that covers areas becoming gradually lighter or darker in the HISK’s brand new space in Brussels. In a Long Blink of an Eye furthermore evokes a body language that communicates care and trust, both grown out of an intense, horizontal and frank exchange between the HISK curator and the artists during the period they worked together. 

In a Long Blink of an Eye, a collection of ten artists’ books and one critical volume is published on this occasion. Designed and co-edited by Luc Derycke.

The HISK/Hoger Instituut voor Schone Kunsten/Higher Institute for Fine Arts is a post-graduate institute that combines art residency and individualized support with thorough advanced studies in the arts. The HISK provides young artists from Belgium and abroad with a workspace of their own and pedagogical guidance for a duration of two years. The strength of the HISK is its unique model of cross-fertilisation of visiting lectureships, studio visits, exhibitions, Open Studios, seminars, master classes, public lectures, technical workshops, study trips within Belgium and abroad, etc. that are devised to respond to the artists’ needs. The HISK provides a safe haven for experiment and research with a flexible structure. Since 1997, 283 artists from 47 countries have received the certificate of “Laureate of the Higher Institute for Fine Arts.” The majority of them are now pursuing successful professional careers in the international art world.

Location: Gosset Site, Gabrielle Petitstraat 4/6, Building A, First floor, 1080 Brussels, Belgium
Open: December 16, 2020–January 31, 2021. Free entrance. Timed tickets are required to visit the exhibition. Please book your time slot online here.

The HISK is recognized by decree of the Flemish Ministry of Education and financed by the Flemish Community. The HISK is supported by the city of Gent and by the VGC/Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie in Brussels.