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Next station is... New here: For now

Site-specific installation, performance
and soundpiece
2024

As part of Performing Landscapes organized by
Art au Centre Liège and Very Contemporary.

Images by Florine Lafontaine
A conversation opens up between the artist, the audience and the architecture; first through sound and then through a voice embodying three characters. Each of them brings a unique and poetic point of view to bear on the ever-changing urban landscape that surrounds us, its possible narratives, its imaginary and its impact on our lifestyles. 

Time and space are broken down, intersecting what was and future potentials; or in reverse passed potentials and memories to come. It’s no longer a question of place but of dimensions, experimentations and standardization. Gilles Hellemans invites us to explore through his gaze our position as "users" of public spaces, reconsidering the reciprocity in the relationship between the bodies and the structure they inhabit.
Text by Sophie Delha





What a chair wants is not 
necessarily what a chair needs

Performance developped for
Queer Zine Fest Brussels
2024







Getting Closer (Alvar Aalto no.66),
Always Stuff

End-of-residency presentation
at The Green Corridor
2024
During this one-month residency, Hellemans explored an intimate connection with Alvar Aalto’s No. 66 Chair. The chair, already present in the space upon his arrival, demanded his unsolicited attention. In response, Hellemans developed several characters to engage with the chair from different perspectives. These explorations included stepping into Aalto’s shoes by researching his writings, interviews, and documentaries, as well as reflecting on his own personal experience spending time with and on the chair. Additionally, Hellemans considered the perspective of the chair itself—what it might feel like to exist as one of Aalto’s famous designs, (re)used day in and day out.

The outcomes of this research included bodily informed stickers, created through sitting with and manipulating the chair, video performances, a participatory reading score performed with the audience, and the sharing of cut-out cardboard shapes made from the actual chairs.




Blauwe woorden voor Bloemenhof/
Des mots bleus pour Jardin aux Fleurs
(Monobloc tests)

Site-specific installation
As part of Nomadic by Veduta
2024
 For Nomadic, Hellemans utilized white Monobloc chairs, the most ubiquitous and widely distributed plastic chairs on the market. On Bloemenhofplein, seating is scarce, aside from the fountain ledge, a pyramid sitting sculpture, and some window sills. In response, Hellemans created a mirroring gesture to the numerous stacks of chairs in the square, with his facsimile becoming part of the layers of stories and narratives unfolding daily. The chairs could only be used once the code to the lock securing them was obtained. Some local neighbors received the code, and gradually, more people gained access. This allowed them to use the square on their own terms, controlling how publicly the space was utilized. 

On the chairs, the artist inscribed blue words, phrases, and questions, drawing inspiration from Rebecca Solnit's A Field Guide to Getting Lost, particularly her exploration of “the blue of distance.” Solnit describes how blue, emanating from the sky and the sea, has historically symbolized distance and the longing to be elsewhere. Hellemans employed this metaphor to express a collective yearning for better public space usage and the need to claim it. His blue inscriptions explored the hidden corners of the square, delving into the potential for collective use and the meaning of ownership.


Blue Bench Sessions 
(I give you my blue word(s)/ 
almost public excercises) 

Site-specific sculpture
performance and curated program
Initially as part of  Bizet Bizar
Supported by MUS-E  Belgium
2023 - now

Images by Daniel Fülop


“Blue Bench Sessions” is a blue metro bench inviting informal encounters and artistic propositions. It is an ephemeral platform for reflection on urban alienation and loneliness. 

Blue Bench Session #1
Niels Poiz and Inga Gerner Nielsen

Blue Bench Session #2
Stephanie Bequet and Adeline Cros

Blue Bench Session #3
Marjolein Guldentops and
Anastasia Hadjipapa-McCammon

Blue Bench Session #4
Bo Vloors & Céline Lafrikh


More info here






Spend some time
in a concrete shadow

Performance and acrylic paintings
on paper 24 x 30 cm (framed)
2023

Performed at
Rhizome Structures, Hamburg
Vruchbare grond, Het Bos, Antwerp
2023
MAX at HotPot, Brussels
2024

Costume design by Stephanie Becquet

Images by Daniel Fülop during Hotpot


Walking around a post-war modernist apartment block in Antwerp, Hellemans was captivated by the striking silhouette of the building and its bountiful balconies. The semi-circular shadows cast across the walls created a sense of enigma and added texture. They had an alienating feel to them, yet at the same time, he could imagine them being the perfect spot for a modern-day Shakespeare to dream up a fairytale set in brick and concrete. Could these circular shadows be the birthplace of young, queer love?






Skimming Stones (after twenty degrees) 
Stenen ketsen (na twintig graden)
Ricochets (après vingt degrés)

Video work
2020
Skimming Stones (after twenty degrees) explores methods of preservation and resistance to standardization in relation to the architecture of Simone & Lucien Kroll.




Adhesive Exercises (solo show)

Grölle Pass Projects/Raum 2,
Wuppertal

Sculpture, four images of maquettes
on synaps paper and two video-installations.
2019


Installation images by Charlotte Perrin









Blue Room Exercises

Xpo be 1, Rue du Serpentin 33, Brussels
Kelder Kamer Music, Cc Strombeek, Grimbergen
2019

Installation, (Size variable to room used), blue tarps,
blue cushions and two blue lamps.



Installation images at Cc Strombeek
by Hugo Boutry