Enfant Terrine

We have been intrigued by and following the work of Dennis Tyfus and the activities of his label Ultra Eczema for about 10 years now. Tyfus is known for an oeuvre that is difficult to categorize. It grows out of the things he finds important and results in a practice that is unceasing. Ranging from drawings, paintings, collages, poems, installations, videos, performances to magazines, flyers, posters and books (published & distributed under his own label Ultra Eczema) to music, vinyl record productions and radio shows on air at Radio Centraal.

Tyfus is simultaneously an outcast and a unifying factor in the Antwerp art scene. He uses the record label as a vehicle for all sorts of collaborations with a range of artists and musicians, which causes uncertainty when it comes to position his work for both the art world professionals as for the wider audience. His work that might rather be described as a form of being than as separate artworks often hovers in the grey area between arts, city life and popular culture. Because of this unpredictability of the ‘place’ of his works, they have an even stronger impact on us.

With the realisation of ‘De Nor’ Dennis Tyfus again played with the expectations and the unwritten rules of the exhibition space and its visitors, as this bar took over the space and Tyfus confronted his audience with this non-stop dance performance slash noise concert, a recorder (flute) installation and drawings and sculpture exhibition. This very first edition of ‘De Nor’ was an improvised gathering of all the activities that Dennis Tyfus is involved in at the moment.

On 21 October during Museum Night in The Hague the artist offered an evening of No Choice Tattoos in De Nor: The only choice was the size of the tattoo and place or body part: a permanent surprise!