Studio Glithero’s aim is to capture the moment that an object is removed from display, leaving a faint trace of its presence after it has been packed away – «the last frame in a transition to nothingness». When an object that has been in our presence for a very long time is gone, it feels as if some of the object’s virtues still remain in place.»
The exhibition is split over several rooms across the ground floor of the Broelmuseum, situated in a former mansion on Buda Island in the centre of Kortrijk. Moving around the room, it becomes apparent that the chandelier isn’t really there and visitors are able to look into the top of the crate to better understand how the illusion works. «Fantoom is about perception and transience,» said Studio Gilthero. The ornamental lighting piece is actually laid out in the crate below, and simply reflected on the glass disk. The eerie Fantoom exhibition is on display at the Broelmuseum in Kortrijk, opened to coincide with the city’s Interieur design festival last month. Related story: Glithero patterns fabric using organ musicStudio Glithero has used the Pepper’s ghost illusion – commonly used in theatres or haunted houses – to reflect objects laid horizontally in crates onto sections of suspended glass so they appear to stand vertically within the museum’s rooms. A marble bust is displayed in the same way in another of the Broelmuseum’s lavishly decorated rooms, where the Fantoom exhibition will remain until 14 December. «Think about the discoloured imprint on wallpaper when a painting has been taken off the wall. In the first space, a crystal chandelier appears to have materialised in the centre of the room as if suspended from the ceiling. Interieur 2014: antique objects from a Belgian museum’s permanent collection appear as ghostly apparitions in an exhibition by London-based Studio Glithero (+ movie). A mirror hung on the wall behind the glass also reveals that there is no chandelier in hanging in the space.
