Deep Tissue

Karel van Laere received a contribution to develop new work. Deep Tissue is the working title of the new project for which Karel immerses himself in the world of massage. The project is about touch, surrender, tension and relaxation and is best described as a combination between performance and video art.

Karel is currently a resident artist at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten. Over the years he has explored within his artworks what he calls the "limits of surrender," subjecting his body to various processes. This experiment of relinquishing control can be seen in his work Paralysis, which documents the 24 hours in which his motionless body is strictly tied to a table. The motionless body is also a central theme in works such as Slow (Taiwan) and Largo, in which it glides slowly and statically through different landscapes. In The Non Present Performer, he entrusts his body - in a state of deep hypnosis - to the hands of professional dancers and a choreographer.