Gorgo #4

Belgian artist Peter Buggenhout is celebrated for his enigmatic sculptural creations, which confront the viewer like relics from another world. Forged from a variety of organic and manmade waste products, his works draw inspiration from biblical, mythological and philosophical narratives, seeking to evoke the chaos of human existence. Created using iron, wood, paper and horse hair saturated with pig’s blood, the present work stems from his Gorgo series, begun in 2005. Its title refers to the three Gorgons of Greek mythology, who had the ability to turn anyone who looked at them into stone. Medusa – the most famous of the trio – was defeated by Perseus, who used a looking glass so as not to meet her gaze. In Buggenhout’s creation, the myth becomes a metaphor for art’s capacity to hold a mirror up to life: a means of defence, he believes, against the horrors of reality. Shown at the Saatchi Gallery in 2011, his Gorgo sculptures were the subject of an exhibition at the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature, Paris, in 2014, and have subsequently featured in a number of his solo shows. His works are held in public collections including the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, and the Diechtorhallen, Hamburg.