BILLY

Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst

Stefaan Dheedene bought a piece of furniture from the Billy series at Ikea. But the day before the exhibition opened, Dheedene took Billy back to Ikea. He received the money he invested back. In the time before the opening the artist hired a carpenter who reconstructed the mass-produced Billy as a unique work of art. Using a slightly different wood, Dheedene’s Billy was born – almost the same as Ikea's mass-produced version sold all over the world, but unique. A video recording the work of the hired carpenter is on view during the exhibition. The video refers to the euphoric days of capitalism, while at the same time subverting its ideology. The whole reconstruction process (sawing, drilling, etc) is presented with meticulous care in the video; it combines overviews and (almost abstract) details.

exhibition view
video: Billy - 23'06" (2'15" extrract)
videostills Billy
text Marina Grzinic: What is going to be then, eh?
text Beatrijs Eemans: Billy (Dutch)
text Beatrijs Eemans: Billy (English)
text Beatrijs Eemans: Billy (French)
publication