Thomas Bogaert
On the way to the peak of ecstasy

On The Way to the peak of ecstasy is the project Thomas Bogaert has been working on since early last year, and which now finds completion in the exhibition at Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens.

On The Way to the peak of ecstasy can be seen as a voyeuristic road movie in slow motion and without any storyline. For the realisation of this work, Thomas Bogaert made a long journey through California, on the West Coast of the United States. It is not only the particular light and the desolate atmosphere of the desert roads that fascinate him but the American culture itself: the artificial scene of Hollywood, the stars and wannabe stars that hang around, the escapist movies that are made there, the unyielding belief in the “American Dream” and the absolute dread of everything that could upset the American Dream...

He looped together a selection of the many images that he recorded with his Super-8 movie camera. The French musician Raoul Sinier created the soundtrack for the film.

In connection with the triple projection on a prism, Thomas Bogaert presents several objects that were created from the film footage. Thomas Bogaert also produced an artist’s book that forms an integral part of the On The Way to the peak of ecstasy project. In this way, Thomas Bogaert continues his play with the physical and mental layers of the image through a variety of different media.