U.C.! SHOP

Galerie de la Toison d'Or / Brussels, 1997

Mark1

Collection of clothes with prints, audio mix, 4 posters edition, lettering on shop window

UC.SHOP.97 is a project carried out within the framework of the PARASITE exhibition curated by Kurt Vanbelleghem, which took place in the Toison d'Or shopping galleries in Brussels in 1997 and for which the 19 guest artists had a shop at their disposal, free of occupation for a two-month period.

As these galleries are mainly occupied by clothing shops, Alec De Busschère proposed to use the language usually used by clothing salesmen, i.e. the presentation of brands, the display of models in shop windows, the use of communication supports, specific lights, music, etc. to create his own shop: U.C.! Shop.

*U.C.! Shop*, Galeries de la Toison d'Or, Brussels, 1997.

In order to build up his merchandise, the artist has recovered end-of -series work clothes bought by the kilo: overalls, trousers, jackets, etc., which he has adorned with logos representing companies imagined as part of the UNDER CONSTRUCTION! project presented at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Charleroi the previous year during a solo exhibition.

Breschée-Sud >>    B-sud
Secured eshb    >>    S[red]
Suede Brechts     >>    SUEDE
Chube & Desser   >>    CHUBE & DESSER >> C&D

*U.C.! Shop*, clothing label, Galeries de la Toison d'Or, Brussels, 1997.

All these company names were created from anagrams of the artist's name. The idea was to take over the aura of the brands, while at the same time distorting it. In the clothing trade, the designer's name is usually the best selling point and the brand is one of the main commercial assets.

The artist introduces these brands into the real world via logos printed on these work clothes, sometimes ostentatiously, sometimes more discreetly. He plays on the identity of the brand, futile for the consumer who claims his taste but necessary for the employee who has to wear workwear with the name of his employer written on it. The world of work and the world of fashion are brought together through these garments, which ultimately bear the artist's signature.