ANA DIAS BATISTA

Base Layer, 2023

Carpet, eyelets, hooks

Boiler Room, Galeria Jaqueline Martins, Brussels

Carpet panels cover all of the basement walls. A cutout is made for every one the underlying elements: various locked-up doors, empty shelves, large-sized light switches, different kinds of electric fixtures, the heater, parts of an alarm system, pipes, beams. Nothing is missing, and there are no leftovers: every cutout is incorporated in the installation, either unfolding from the wall, lying on the floor, hanging on existing structures or tying other cutouts up.

The installation resists adding alien information (material or discursive) to the space. Its main procedure is saturation. The title, BASE LAYER, an expression used for thermal underwear, resonates in some less orthodox cutouts, and also points to the fact that the work seems to welcome further layers, perhaps other artwork. In any case, its all-over, single-material solution aims to lend an immersive, cave-like, slightly sinister ambience to that intricate basement space, turning it into a mysterious path.