Emmanuel Van der Auwera

During Brussels Gallery Weekend, Harlan Levey Projects and Botanique will present a new video diptych by Emmanuel Van der Auwera spread between the two venues.

"The Sky is on Fire," & "The Death of K9 Cigo," continue the Belgian artist's investigation of trauma, testimony and media literacy in the digital age. Building on his films "A Certain Amount of Clarity," "Central Alberta," "Missing Eyes," and "Wake Me Up at 4:20," the diptych was produced in the 15 months following the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida.  In "The Death of K9-Cigo", the artist addresses our collective gaze and consciousness, reconstructing an unrelenting perspective of the event by editing together numerous videos posted on a live social platform in Miami. "The Sky is on Fire" questions the becoming of our digital culture and memory by means of a virtual re-creation of the urban landscape. In a park under the sun an anonymous user states: "We are temporary, but what we do is permanent."