21 March 2025 - Blikfabriek Hoboken
Hosted by Bart Van Dijck, Slekke, Egon Beeckman and Marte Lambaerts
At the spring equinox, when the day is equal in length to the night, we get together to say goodbye to winter and welcome spring. In the warm glow of a grow light, we prepare and perform remedies against symptoms of winter, based on folklore medicine. Foot baths, herbal preparations, medicinal teas and the first edible wild plants of spring are offered to the participants. As we shed our winter fur, animal sounds wake up nature's growing power.
The method of the spring ritual is developed with the aim to create intimate contexts for a diverse audience to experience a meaningful gathering and transition from winter into spring together. Each year the ritual is performed in a different location, and every time it is reconsidered and influenced by the site and context.
TUSKS 1:1 started as a collaboration between visual artists Slekke and Bart Van Dijck, as an annual participatory event happening around the spring equinox. The project started in 2018 within the frame of a matchmaking residency at KASK, Ghent. Prior to this project, the artists already shared an interest in folklore, gardening and rituals.
Hadas Cnaani and Zinaïda Tchelidze contribute as guest artists for this years’ edition. Zinaïda Tchelidze explores in her artistic practice the phenomenon of table rituals, inspired by Georgian feasts. Hadas Cnaani explores as a cook the healing potential of food and works with ingredients representing both winter and spring.
We invite people who are interested in rituals, ethnobotany, folk medicine and art as a tool for healing. Participants are asked to share their rituals, remedies or recipes through the online application form, and to bring an old piece of clothing as an offering to the event.
Places are limited. Please register before March 1st.
Practical information
- Friday 21.3.2025
- Doors: 18:00
- Spring celebration: 18:30 - 22:00
- Blikfabriek, Krugerstraat 232, 2660 Hoboken
- Because we have limited funding, free donations between 8€ – 28€ in cash are highly appreciated.
- A screenprint edition 'Tusks 1:1 - medical attachment' will be available for sale during and after the ritual.
More information: Slekke.com / Bartvandijck.be