Atelier Van Lieshout Opens Pop-Up Exhibitions During Art Rotterdam

During Art Rotterdam's art week, Atelier Van Lieshout opened its doors with two pop-up exhibitions at AVL-Mundo, a foundation established in 2008 spanning over 3,500 square meters in the Merwe-Vierhavens area. The space is a work-in-progress, part construction site and part farm, with an official opening planned for 2017. Belgian artist Anthony Nestel created a video-installation during a residency, depicting a fictional cult called iiii-lifestyle that satirizes contemporary individualism through surreal rituals including systematic rape as coercion. The exhibition also features kinetic sculptures by Joep Van Lieshout, including The Mechanicals Turks (2015), two mechanical heads conversing in the dark, blurring the line between human and machine. The New Tribal Labyrinth repurposes industrial elements like concrete mixers into local production systems in a post-apocalyptic tribal scenario. The Food Garden, an outdoor space, appears barren in winter but is a permaculture garden supplying 50 local families with vegetables weekly.