Lieven De Boeck is an artist whose work develops simultaneously on two levels. On the one hand, he makes observations about the public domain that surrounds us and defines our daily reality as well as the context of any art practice. On the other hand, he focuses on his overall project The Dictionary of Space which formulates concepts dealing with architectural themes such as occupation, appropriation, borders, territories, representation and identity. In the neon sculpture Let us be us, Lieven De Boeck decided to put an artwork on scale 1/7, creating as such a double reading. It can be seen as a gigantic neon wall in a museum chamber or the box can be seen as a box around the neon. The neon text “let us be” addresses the viewer personally but can also see it as a slogan of ‘the other’ depending on his or her interpretation of “us”. The neon sculpture has been executed in the colors of the Belgian Flag (black/ yellow/ red), a choice made when Belgian politicians negotiated for 535 days before succeeding in agreeing on a political program for the country.
