Muse
2017
Other, 30 x 30 cm.
Materials: plastic
Collection: Collection M HKA, Antwerp (Inv. no. U2017).
William Sweetlove, born in Ostend, Belgium, in 1949, unites Dadaism with surrealism and pop art in humoristic sculptures that at first sight may seem “kitschy”. However, closer familiarity with his works reveals their role as a creative antidote to the overproduction and overconsumption of our society.
With his cloned animals William Sweetlove calls for greater ecological awareness and urges us to reflect on the consequences of the climate change challenging humanity.
Sweetlove is a member of Cracking Art movement (currently formed by six artists: Alex Angi, Renzo Nucara, Carlo Rizzetti, Marco Veronese, William Sweetlove and Kicco). The common aim is to change the history of art through a strong social and environmental commitment that, combined with an innovative use of plastic materials, evokes the close relationship between natural and artificial reality. The name "Cracking Art" comes from the verb "to crack" which indicates the state of being split, broken, crashed. Moreover, the catalytic cracking is the name that stands for the chemical reaction occurring when the raw crude oil is converted into plastic. The aim is to connect common reasoning to individual meditation, creating installations with animals that appear unexpectedly in everyday places. The astonishment of meeting an ordinary subject transformed into something extraordinary through its super-size, color and shape catches people attention and invites them to see urban life and cities in a different way.