Dear ladies and gentlemen
I am pleased to be here and to introduce you to the work of my friend, Jef Geys. Jef and I are quite different – he’s an artist, I’m a physician. In spite of that, we are both intrigued by the secrets of what we call life and are both eager to find ways to improve life, each within our own discipline.
Jef’s concern about life and about what is profoundly human is reflected in the art he creates. His art counts as a kind though urgent invitation not only to look at it from a certain distance, but to really participate in it. By his art Jef invites the spectator to look for answers to the question of how to improve life.
For the Biennale in Venice last year Jef presented an entirely new project, entitled the “Quadra Medicinale”. The Quadra Medicinale was, first of all, the story of the abundance of plants that grow in the streets of large cities. Although these plants are often called ‘weeds’, many of them are very edible or even medicinal. In addition, Quadra Medicinale was also the expression of Jef’s commitment about the various social issues facing today’s cities.
In the Woodward Avenue project, which is a variant of “Quadra Medicinale”, Jef incorporates an even broader range of scientific disciplines into his art. For this project, he asked Ina Vandebroek, an ethnomedical research specialist, to present a film and a workshop about traditional healers in the Amazon region of Bolivia. For Jef the continuation of the dialogue between physicians and traditional healers is important to develop healthcare that is both effective and culturally acceptable.
Jef has his own aesthetic methods, I have mine. We respect one another and we work together, whenever possible.
thank you for your attention
Lorry Swerts