Part of this year's OFF program is 12, a registered Art Nouveau gem in the Antwerp North district, revitalized by AIM Architecture, a global design firm with a presence in Shanghai, Chicago, and now Antwerp. For their first exhibition, 12 invited Antwerp-based artist Yorgos Maraziotis to co-create an immersive installation that explores the idea of displacement as a catalyst for contemporary habitation.

DISPLACED refers to the tension created when we take things out of their original context and present them as entities with new meanings, often enriched. Objects appear ‘stripped’ of their original functions, revealing what they truly are. A door is just a door until it lacks a wall. What is a room partition when there are no rooms to be divided? DISPLACED also alludes to the tension arising when humans move from their original place to another, sometimes forcibly, seeking a better future.

The exhibition space, a building erected in 1907 for the shipping agency Jaenicken – Manceau, has borne witness to human mobility and migration since its inception. Yorgos Maraziotis and AIM Architecture explore the tension resulting from constant change and spatial modifications, offering new narratives through an installation comprising found objects and newly created sculptures. Yorgos Maraziotis and AIM treat these salvaged elements as the main protagonists on a potential stage, engaging them in spatial and contextual dialogue with a series of handcrafted neon, marble, and mirror sculptures. Together, they create an intimate landscape that invites the audience to engage in personal contemplation, collective playfulness, and immersive experience. The new sculptures challenge the details and memories embedded in the found objects. Collectively, they form a raw and elegant capsule, demonstrating that displacement can serve as a catalyst for communication and human advancement.