The work of Adrien Tirtiaux (°1980, Brussels) questions the delicate interface between private and public space. With a background in architecture and an approach that identifies a location’s inherent challenges and unused potentials, Tirtiaux develops proposals around these conditions. His current project, DAS TROJANISCHE DING (The Trojan Thing), unfolds between the non-profit exhibition space LLS Paleis in Antwerp and the Ghent-based artists’ collective 019.

With DAS TROJANISCHE DING, he reacts to spatial conditions defining LLS Paleis and 019 as well as to practical situations the two organisations faced recently: While LLS struggled with limited funds, 019 grappled with a large amount of wood waste from previous productions that began to take up too much of their space. Upon invitation by LLS Paleis and by making use of the leftover wood from 019, Tirtiaux develops a monumental sculpture that takes place in both locations.

At LLS Paleis, the sculpture fills and extends the main space. Hinges connect different parts of the large scale timber structure, making it potentially movable. Yet, as it occupies the whole space, the object appears to have no room to move at all. The “Thing” is just a bit too big for the space. It pushes its boundaries, thereby virtually demanding that the site expand. Sticking out beyond the building’s front edge, it creates a little awning above the venue’s public sidewalk. With this feature, the sculpture temporarily alters not only the gallery space, but also the public space in front of it. Offering shelter from rain and sun, it invites people to linger.

The project is a collaboration between the two organisations and, in this sense, a bridge between them. Beyond that, its title also evokes another, more specific type of structure, namely that of a “Trojan horse”. In Greek mythology, this refers to a big wooden construction, allegedly used by the Greeks – under the pretext of being a gift – to secretly enter the city of Troy and defeat it from within. Tirtiaux’s project thus carries a loaded name which initially calls for caution. However, the figure of the “Trojan horse” can also stand for inventive solutions and strategic breakthroughs in bogged down situations.

(Text by Emilia Keller)

LLS Paleis is an alternative art space in Antwerp, a free port for the visual arts, a place where artist can find an ally. Starting from this attitude, the organisation does not confirm traditional values of contemporary art, but focuses on the experimental and the challenging. This means LLS presents itself as the place where the structural and fundamental standardisation of the art world is questioned and the input by the artist takes a central position. Apart from solo presentations, larger theme exhibitions are organised, which, through their unconventional approach, contribute in a unique way to the discourse within contemporary art. The focus is on what is stubborn and less obvious in an artist's oeuvre, in order to spread a more intricate and broad understanding of art.

LLS 387 was founded in September 2007 at Ulrike Lindmayr's initiative, who was also the organisation's director until 2017. The name of the not-for-profit space refers to the address (Lange LeemStraat 387) in Antwerp where it was located. Stella Lohaus commits herself to the next ten years of LLS. From 2018 onwards, the exhibition space will be located at Paleisstraat 140 in Antwerp and will therefore be called LLS Paleis.