Orgone/Sleep/Dinette Skull

Description

'Orgone/Sleep/ Dinette Skull' is a caravan-like object. The wooden construction is covered on the outside with a bumpy layer of polyester with a beige/greyish colour. You can enter through a door which can be shut. The walls, the floor and ceiling are covered with red flooring material. In the “caravan” there is a table, a sofa with orange cotton upholstery and a double bed with a duvet and cushions covered with the same material as the sofa. There is lighting which can be turned on and off. There is a window in one of the side walls and a shutter which can open in the roof. The room is small but very efficiently furnished. The materials and the lighting that are used make it cosy and even sultry.,&From the mid 1990s, the Atelier van Lieshout produced work in which the emphasis was on protection, safety and comfort. In addition to helmets and weapons which also serve as ornaments, they made cabin and caravan-like spaces. These can be placed anywhere and serve as minimal but comfortable spaces, where man’s basic needs can be met. Part of the title of 'Orgone/Sleep/ Dinette Skull' actually indicates that the object can be used to sleep and eat in.

The term “orgone” comes from the Austrian psychiatrist Wilhelm Reich, who developed the Orgone Energy Accumulator in 1940. Reich’s starting point was that there were positive particles of energy in the world (orgones) which attract each other. These are particularly concentrated in small ,sealed rooms. They have a reviving and sometimes even exciting effect on man, both physically and mentally. By analogy with Reich’s Orgone Energy Accumulator, the Atelier Van Lieshout made objects in which you can withdraw. The last part of the title of this work relates to the form of the object: it makes you think of a skull. The colour and skin of the polyester could be associated with the grey mass under the skull, the brain. The aim of the object, like that of Reich is not only to physically catch your breath, but also to achieve peace in your head.

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