M HKA Ensembles

Installation, 235 x ( 26 x 19 cm).

Collection: Collection M HKA, Antwerp (Inv. no. BK6927).

235 Important and Less Important Photographs from the Second Half of the 20th Century show images of reality and deal with ordinary subjects. There are smaller series within the larger whole. They often show banal subjects such as a dog in a bath, people dancing at a party, Indians in a shop, and so on. Bijl devotes a lot of attention to the presentation of the photographs. All their frames are the same and they are all the same size. Some of the older photos are discoloured and the pictures were taken from various angles: from a distance, from close up, from below and from above. In many cases one can only see a part of the people in the photos. Bijl shows every facet of our society, and the changes in fashions and interests in the second half of the twentieth century. Leisure, travel, various cultures, sport, dogs and food all make their appearance. He has made a visual inventory of our time and his favourite subject is all things average. He shows us our era and our civilisation.