Masquerade

Masquerade (2015) features the story of the contested initial public offering (IPO) of Art House Index (AHI–). The index proposes the transformation of the Brussels home of Vermeir & Heiremans, which in their practice they define as an artwork, into a financial instrument. While a reporter addresses the camera, a reenactment of the IPO takes place in the background of the video.

But then it all goes wrong. Are we witnessing an insider sale in an auction house, a market crash in a trading pit, or a courtroom hearing? Art, like finance, is a system of belief, and the market is where such belief is implemented. Vermeir & Heiremans present the multiple-screen installation version elements of Masquerade as well as the associated In-Residence Magazine #2, and will expand on the notion of temporality in relation to the project's conceptual and technical structure.