Ischa Kempka (1995) combines ancient symbols with self-invented new ones in an attempt to capture contemporary trends. With the help of sculptures and installations, the artist creates archaeological reinterpretations to realize future traces from the past.
For the installation shown at Prospects, Kempka was inspired by medieval insignia. The artist became interested in how during the Middle Ages human beings were rigidly subdivided into two compartments, and how sex and gender were portrayed in very specific ways. Kempka decided to use a stereotypical ceramic item, a vase, and decorate it with inversions of these representations. In the glaze, the artist drew self-invented, new versions of ancient symbols. While in the medieval visual language the feminine body is often depicted holding a cross-bow, and the masculine body a sword, Kempka has swapped these attributes. Kempka is thus trying to challenge assumptions about sex and gender. The shape of the vase is intentional as it is inextricably linked to the tradition of preserving.
For this work the artist was also inspired by The Patriarchs: The Origins of Inequality by the British journalist and writer Angela Saini. This book covers the history of the patriarchy, zooming in on how this system has affected our entire history and continues to promote inequality. Set off against this history, Kempka’s vases look more like archaeological finds from an alternative timeline.
Text: Milo Vermeire
Translation from Dutch to English: Marie Louise Schoondergang