If you die before you die, you won’t die when you die
Warre Mulder
‘if you die before you die, you won’t die when you die. That’s the actual key. It’s not psychedelics, it’s not drugs; it’s this concept of navigating the liminal space between what you and I are doing right now, and dreaming and death. In that state, the mystics and sages tell us, is the potential to grasp a very different view of reality.’ - Brian Muraresku, author of The Immortality Key, in conversation with Derek Beres.
A fascination for the relation between plants, spiritualism and religion forms the basis for a spatial installation by Dutch/Belgian artist Warre Mulder. A large-scale sculpture based on the Celtic god Cernunnos takes center-stage. Often depicted in a floating meditative pose holding a snake and ring, 'the horned one' was worshiped as lord of the forest, game, hunting and underworld in early England, France and Belgium. Connected to the rhythm of nature and the circular perception of reality, Cernunnos is reborn each year in spring to die again in autumn. Mulder combines characteristics of Cernunnos with traits of another horned god from Greek mythology; Pan. He further refers to the cult around the Greek God Dionysus, in whose worshiping ritual wine diluted with plants and herbs (including nightshade) provided trance-inducing effects. The use of hallucinogenic plants has long been intertwined with mankind. They possibly induced the mystical experiences that are at the core of many mythological, spiritual and religious traditions. In this installation, Mulder refers and combines freely, in order to find new shapes for these bodies of knowing and understanding.
2023 - sculptural installation including Spiral lift off, various dimensions
Courtesy of the artist
Commissioned by STUK, House for Dance, Image & Sound in the context of The Ecstatic Being. Between knowing and understanding (2023).
Warre Mulder
°1984, Borgerhout, Belgium
Warre Mulder grew up in a Dutch family in Belgium. He studied painting at Sint-Lucas in Antwerp but gradually embraced a broad sculptural practice, complemented by video works and installations. His fabulous creatures are mostly inspired by images from mythology, religion, pop culture, and science fiction, and a unique universe of their own. Intuition, animism, assemblage, humor and chance are key ingredients in the creation of his work, which recently has been exhibited at a.o. Façade, CBK Zeeland, Middelburg, NL; Galerii Luxfer, Lipa Art collection, CZ; DMW Gallery; Whitehouse Gallery; De Garage Mechelen, BE; and Krasj Ninove, BE. Warre Mulder is represented by Whitehouse Gallery. He lives and works in Zeeland (NL) and Antwerp (BE)
Portrait © Lynn Kastanovics