MONDAY: FIREWORK; TUESDAY: ILLUMINATIONS; WEDNESDAY: REVOLUTION

In the exhibition ’Monday: Firework; Tuesday: Illuminations; Wednesday: Revolution’, shown in Argos in spring 2010, Angel Vergara concentrated on history, and more specifically on the early days of the Belgian monarchy and its cultural, social-political and economic context. He derived the title of the exhibition from an anonymous poster which circulated in Brussels in the days preceding the Belgian Revolution in 1830 – a slogan-like message that appeared to be announcing a show of some sort. Vergara used this historical ’reality’ to reflect on how historical facts intersect with fictional elements and personal thoughts. The exhibition circuit was conceived of as a whole but divided into three chapters. The artist called it "an anti-painting of history". This is why we see historical figures such as Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Leopold I and the painters Gustaaf Wappers and Antoine Wiertz, in addition to contemporary figures, in the videos which made up the bulk of the exhibition. While questioning Belgian cultural identity, Vergara employed the accepted national ’history’ as a launch pad for an exhibition in the form of a dialogue with modern Europe. This made the exhibition subjective topography, rather than an instructive circuit. Vergara’s mental exercise on autonomy, sense of community and personal freedom – on the genesis and existence of an identity and a nation – also reflects on the artist’s position in society.