M HKA Ensembles

Installation, sculpture 142 × 75 × 65 cm.

Collection: Stad Antwerpen, in langdurige bruikleen in M HKA (Inv. no. SCA0053).

HYPNOPOMP was created for the ARTEFACT 2023 exhibition at STUKLeuven. It takes us on a journey into a hypnotic experience where rhythm, movement and consciousness change and come together to create a mesmerising art installation. 

HYPNOPOMP combines various audiovisual and sculptural elements. The installation consists of two video works depicting an artificial natural landscape with a gabber dancer moving to the beats of a drum soundtrack. Gabber, a style of electronic music originating in the 1990s in the Low Countries, is known for its relentless beats of up to 200 BPM and repetitive dance style that can induce trance-like states. A monolithic sculptural mask-like element stands at the centre of the installation, animated by digital projection mapping and undergoing cyclical transformations inspired by visual distortions and hallucinations that occur during trance-like experiences. The installation’s title refers to the combination of various elements: the ecstatic dream state between sleeping and waking on the one hand and the exhilarating hardcore drum loops and repetitive choreography of the dancing gabber on the other. HYPNOPOMP combines ancient traditions, modern subculture and shamanism with a focus on rhythm, repetition, transformation of consciousness and ritual expression. The result is a hypnotic experience that induces a transcendental state beyond ordinary time in spectators.