Neïl Beloufa, Dylan

2019

Medium

MDF, synthetic leather, steel, electric hardware and electric plug

Dimensions

70 × 50 cm

Status

In Gallery Collection

Collect24 Art ID

C24-156012

At first glance, the relief-like wall work Dylan's rendez-vous (2019) by the French-Algerian artist Neïl Beloufa depicts an apparently ordinary beach scene. A colorfully striped bath towel lies spread out on the sand, while in the background rushing waves spill onto shore. Upon second glance, this supposed holiday paradise is spoiled: the outlines of objects under the towel and the sand are clearly visible: crushed plastic bottles and a beverage can. Immediately they evoke images of heavily soiled beaches flooded with plastic and garbage, which quickly cloud the fantasy of a dream holiday. They are testimonies to the presence of people and our consumer behavior in a globalized world. Not only the consumption of goods is made apparent, also media consumption is a central theme in this work: Conspicuously embedded in the sand is a socket promising access to electricity and thus, in the digital age, the connection to media and permanent availability. As multi-layered and paradoxical as this may seem, Beloufa's art serves not only in the figurative sense of networking, but concretely as an invitation to actively connect mobile devices to the electric circuit. Beloufa, who often uses materials and techniques in his works that contain visible technological components, he juxtaposes the technical aspects with the bold colors of dyed MDF and the bright mustard yellow and pink of the leather, which nestles wonderfully against the structured wooden background and allows this technoid relief to shine.