Manifesta 9 – Moloch and La Ville Rouge
Michael Matthys is a Belgian artist, who lives and works in Charleroi. Moloch was one of my favorite artworks of Manifesta. According to the guidebook,
Matthys documents the scars left by the demise of industrialism in Charleroi, paying homage to the metalworking industry and intimating the latent violence of social disenfranchisement with his peculiar choice of materials.
Moloch is actually an installation with 1.000 aquatints. The somber colors represent the economic depression in which Charleroi finds itself now. The city used to have a flourishing steel and coal industry until the 1950s. When that industry disappeared Charleroi was never the same again… Moloch is a homage to the remnants of this steel industry.
Check out the other pictures on Flickr!
6 Comments on “Manifesta 9 – Moloch and La Ville Rouge”
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Ingrid is a Worldette!
Such an effective way to display the story. Seems to encompass the sombreness of the place.
Yep, it’s not exactly one of the most cheerful places in Belgium…
Very sobering images
Indeed and now I want to see the “real” city!
Right now I’m trying real hard to get approved for a guided tour of the long defunct mini mill of the Hamilton Specialty Bar operation. I want to do some urban photography in there. Any hints on how the artist was able to get into the facility for the Moloch project?
I also wanted to shoot inside the last Studebaker plant without breaking in. Although it has been closed for forty years, the place has been standing abandonned the whole time. Just this past week, it was announced that it is finally being demolished. Another lost fine art photography opportunity for me.
I really want to get into that wing of the HSB badly now.
I have no idea how the artist managed to get inside these buildings… I do understand your frustration, because lately we have started with some urban exploring as well and it’s not easy!