Rudek

One of the ideas behind "The Beautyful Ones" is to bring the art back to place that inspired it. I have designed the "Mirror"-series which looks at the La neighbourhood through the people of the neighbourhood in the most literal sense. Using in situ constructions of plexiglas and stencil art, put at 'landmark' positions in the neighbourhood, I want to find the people that could be today's beautyful ones.

This in itself is a layered idea.

The first layer comes with the quest for beauty, those born or unborn "beautyful ones". Seeking beauty in an urban environment has always something disconcerting; in Accra this means also overcoming the blatant lack of urban planning, the problematic concept of "public space" and the problems of everyday filth and hygiene. To find beauty where it is most hidden is the artist's most daring assignment.

The second layer is about exposure: to involve into the aesthetic adventure people who would otherwise not be in touch with contemporary art. The vocation of the arts is in the desire to expose people to beautiful things, but the arts are selfish: in general we expect the people to come to the arts rather than the arts going to the people. Integrating museum art and street art into one overall event allows to bring the best of both worlds together, and to expose art works, people, the environment, and the spectators in the many different meanings of the word.

The third layer comes with the desire to stimulate, to stimulate directly through exposure itself, to stimulate through aesthetic confrontation, to stimulate by seeking for active engagement.

This combination of seeking beauty, creating exposure, and stimulating aesthetic confrontation and active engagement form the ingredients of the "Mirror"-series. I have used elements of street art (like stencil graffiti), emblematic everyday objects (kufuor-gallons), and fine arts (portraits) to give a face and a voice to today's "beautyful ones". My sincere hope is that they will recognize themselves and recognize the inspiration that they engendered.

Rudek was born in The Netherlands and lived in France and Ghana. He was trained as an engineer, but pursues a parallel career in the arts. Together with his partner Anna Kurtycz, he is driving the artistic projects of Studio Kurtycz. This is his fourth exhibition in Ghana.

"Nkrumah Never Dies" from the "Mirror Series". To the right the conceptual design, above the installation in situ at La.