Ann Veronica Janssens

For a group of works, all titled IPE, Janssens uses stainless steel beams. These are prefabricated industrial products with dimensions based on European standards. IPE is the abbreviation for steel beams with an I-shaped profile. The number given in the work title—in this case “600”—indicates the length in centimeters. Furthermore, IPE600 is no ordinary steel beam. Although its form has not been altered, the surface has been polished to create a mirror-like quality. This intervention changes the strict geometry, the rigid character of the material. The heavy steel is now countered by a certain transparency; its mirror surface opens up the form and adds a disorienting tension to this industrial object’s pragmatic plainness. Viewers bending over the object encounter their own reflection. They thus merge with the artwork and find themselves in the real space of a reality created by the shining surface. But the image of this reality is distorted. (Doris Leutgeb)