Visit: Down, down, down the rabbit hole

“Down, down, down. Would the fall never come to an end?”

(Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland)
 

Since the publication of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in 1865, the ‘rabbit hole descent’ — which drops heroine Alice into a fantastic world — has also become a metaphor for adventures that venture off the beaten track, research that lapses into never-ending distractions and discoveries, taking on a renewed meaning in the age of the internet.

In the ongoing exhibitions on Rodney Graham and Jan Vercruysse, there are allusions to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in both practices. These works not only connect the two individual presentations but also reveal an interaction between the artists.

In this visit, Lewis Carroll’s ‘rabbit hole’ will serve as a guiding metaphor to discuss both Graham’s and Vercruysse’s artistic attitudes to studying and referencing books.
 

This is the second in a series of three guided tours through the current double exhibition Sumptuous Allegories of Nothingness and Avis au lecteur, with art historian Nikolaas Verstraeten, who collaborated on the presentation with Herbert Foundation.
 

PRACTICAL DETAILS

Thursday 13 March 2025, 8 p.m. – 10 p.m.

• Language: Dutch
• Entrance via Coupure Links 627 A
   

• Places are limited.
• Admisson fee: 15€ – Buy your ticket here
• We kindly ask to be present 15 minutes before the start of the tour.

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(Image: Jan Vercruysse, 9 ontwerpen voor het omslag van een tijdschrift in 8 + 1 afleveringen. Aphrodite, Atalante, Beatrice, Cleopatra, Helena, Judith, Lilith, Phryne + Alice (detail), Yves Gevaert Éditeur, Brussels (1991–1992), 1992. Photo: Kristien Daem)