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Normal is Good (The ones who made the work)
commissioned by De Warande, Turnhout, (BE)
2012, sculpture, 300x224x70 cm, painted steel, bronze

When invited by the Warande in Turnhout (Belgium) to participate to the exhibition Twee Spoor, artist duo Cristian Bors and Marius Ritiu chose the local béguinage to present a new sculpture. Flemish béguinages were constructed during the Middle-Ages for catholic sisterhoods and have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998. Intrigued by this architectural complex unknown in their native country, they were also seduced by the possibility to reflect on an issue they're frequently confronted with.

Bors and Ritiu often face questions about the nature of their personal relationships. A lot of people think they form a gay couple like English artist duo Gilbert and George. By placing two naked male torsos on a colourful rainbow inside of the béguinage, Bors and Ritiu not only bring back a masculine element in a place from which men have been excluded during centuries but also trigger the imagination of the spectators about possible homosexual relationships between beguines. The nudity of the male torsos reminds Greek and Roman antique sculptures and is opposed to the strict catholic rules about pudicity.

Normal is Good (The ones who made the work) is also a tribute by Bors and Ritiu to their two Romanian colleagues (Dani Pop & Vasile Pop) who executed the cast of the sculpture in bronze. Having first considered to place their torsos on the rainbow, Bors and Ritiu finally asked their two assistants to mould and cast their own torsos. Giving credits to the maker(s) of an artwork and share the responsibility of the final aspect of it, is a feature Bors and Ritiu also use in other projects like Nepotism.

Simon Delobel, Antwerp, May 2012

Exhibition:
2012, Tweespoor, De Warande, Turnhout, (BE)