Don’t Tell Me Not to Tell You What to Do
April 29–August 13, 2023
Antwerp artist Dennis Tyfus (b. 1979) never stands still. This applies both to his insatiable appetite for work and to the agile nature of his work. There is no limit to the techniques he applies, the forms he assumes, the questions he raises, the collaborations he enters into and the spaces he activates.
His multifaceted oeuvre does not come about haphazardly. It is often a playful response to social trends and everyday concerns. The technical limitations Tyfus encounters in just about every creative process have also begun to inspire him rather than frustrate him.
Tyfus sees these limitations as a leeway that he temporarily bends to his will, only to let them go afterwards. He does this by imposing seemingly bizarre rules and restrictions not only on himself, but also on others. Typhus gives new meaning to the freedom of choice so cherished today. He does this in an absurdist style reminiscent of the work of Wim T. Schippers and Dieter Roth. The result is a parody of life in which the possibilities are endless and the number of participants unlimited.
Nor does the exhibition Don’t Tell Me Not to Tell You What to Do allow itself to be pinned down by conventions. The strongly imposed course that shapes various installations, sculptures, pencil drawings and videos is just as likely to be abandoned during the duration of the expo. Tyfus takes full advantage of the museum space by also organizing concerts, lectures, debates and performances, tattoo sessions and unforeseeable activities there. This creates a non-stop multiplying dance whose end is hard to predict.
