Lore Langendries's furry objects beg to be touched

Please do tocuh

An invitation to stroke, comb, cherish: the hairy objects and jewellery made by Lore Langendries are begging to be touched. The winner of the Henry van de Velde Young Talent Award 2022 presents her first solo exhibition in Z33. Please do touch contains older work as well as a lot of new work, with skins of springbok, roe deer and wild boar.

Lore Langendries (1988, BE) has been a doctor of arts since 2015 but has long been masterful in the creation of contemporary jewellery and objects. With skin and hair. Of animal skins, of course. Biologised by the capriciousness of wild nature, Lore Langendries processes these animal skins with laser cutting technology.

The language of Langendries

Ten years ago, she was featured in Z33. As laureate of Toegepast 16 in 2012, she made a name for herself with her work on classic apothecary bottles. After obtaining her master's degree in Object & Jewellery at the Hasselt PXL-MAD, Langendries developed a language all of her own. First in porcelain, glass and plastic, but then she started experimenting with the tanned skin of springbok. It was in these capricious skins that she discovered her own story.

Animal skins

Lore Langendries is invariably associated with strokeable jewellery. From brooches and buttons to necklaces. By laser cutting the skins of cows, sheep, springboks and even wild boars, she managed to develop a career. More than operating a few computers and lasers, her work revolves around intuition. Feeling, a tradition in which a traditional, instinctive approach predominates in the design process. Starting from wild patterns, imperfections and characteristics of a stiff animal skin, tactile artefacts emerge that reveal or conceal.

How humans interact with nature is a recurring motif in Lore Langendries' practice. She launched the term hunacturing - a combination of the concepts 'human', 'nature' and 'manufacturing'. With it, she intertwines the various dimensions of man, nature and their mutual relationship. From the handling of animal materials to the contrast between artificial and natural production.

Holstein

One of the well-known works she shows in Z33 is HOLSTEIN LL 1401. From one Holstein-Friesian cowhide, 366 individual, circular and numbered brooches were cut to form a limited edition. Since 2016, this wall installation has been gradually transforming into a HOLSTEIN family by giving a place to each new owner of a brooch. Each brooch is taken out of its familiar context and given a new identity. The HOLSTEIN family is still growing every day. 

Wild

Besides older work, in Z33 she presents for the first time her collaboration with Rayah Wauters of Atelier Nauwau. In Wild they study the expressive qualities and new possibilities of both wild boar skin and wood. Through shearing, sanding, turning, brushing, cutting, folding and stacking, both materials are subject and matter in the process of thinking, designing and making. How can we process and work with the wild boar and its habitat without damaging the ecosystem?

Bio Lore Langendries

Lore Langendries (1988, BE), doctor of arts since 2015, is an artistic maker active in the field of contemporary jewellery and objects. Her work arises from the interaction between manual and machine, between unique and serial with a particular focus on the tactile and physical of each artefact, material behaviours, (re)production, digital technology and Lore's own subjective and intuitive role as maker. The circle as a pure geometric form is central and focuses on the essence and beauty of animal skins, which dominate her work, in its most elementary form. The unconventional fusion of the mechanical and manual, as well as the natural and artificial, creates an intriguing field of tension. Just as a photographer frames and narrows his gaze from a wider perspective to eventually focus on a snapshot, Lore Langendries works with an animal skin.

Practical info 
Please do touch
Curator: Heleen Van Loon
12.05 to 15.08.22

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About Z33 - House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture

Z33 is the House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture at the historical center of Hasselt. Design, contemporary art and architecture come together in a versatile program of exhibitions, lectures, research and talent development. The new exhibition building - designed by award winning Italian architect Francesca Torzo, opened the 21st of May 2020.

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Bonnefantenstraat 1 3500 Hasselt (BE)

+32 (0)11 29 59 60

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www.z33.be