Arnix Wilnoudt

The glass bell symbolizes the seclusion of the core family, the church, the family, and the neighborhood. In fact, it is the protective cocoon in which people feel safe and protected. This protective cocoon may quickly become a means of hushing things up that feels like a prison. For seclusion often leads quickly to silence. In this form, the glass bell is both a fragile barrier and at the same time, an impregnable fortress. We look at it and yet cannot reach the situation. This is a feeling that exists in many people. You have to stand outside in order to see it, but it requires courage to smash the glass bell to pieces and break the silence. The generative power in nature: the body is finite, sexuality is timeless, and finiteness also contains infinity. The Stinkhorn In this image under the glass bell, Arnix has turned power into something fragile. For him, the stinkhorn (phallus impudicus = unashamed penis) forms the symbol of transience of power and potency. It can be compared to the present position of the church: an institute quickly losing power, stature and influence because it turns out to be an institute without mechanisms for renewal and rising up again. The influence of this mighty institute is crumbling continuously. The crown of thorns on the stinkhorn’s head is a reference to the crown of thorns (Christ thorn) from Jesus’ crucifixion. It creates a symbol for suffering and mockery. The symbolism of the dying of Jesus and cleansing of sins by the church is totally stripped of gloss. The staffs that were there to spread the word have fallen into sin, and have weighed their victims down with it. The fly, subtly present, stands for slander and corruption.

The glass bell symbolizes the seclusion of the core family, the church, the family, and the neighborhood. In fact, it is the protective cocoon in which people feel safe and protected. This protective cocoon may quickly become a means of hushing things up that feels like a prison. For seclusion often leads quickly to silence. In this form, the glass bell is both a fragile barrier and at the same time, an impregnable fortress. We look at it and yet cannot reach the situation. This is a feeling that exists in many people. You have to stand outside in order to see it, but it requires courage to smash the glass bell to pieces and break the silence. The generative power in nature: the body is finite, sexuality is timeless, and finiteness also contains infinity. The Tower The very dominant phallus within that same enclosure of the glass bell requires no further explanation. It is an impregnable power phenomenon that enforces silence. It is the church tower, the exclamation mark of dominance; power and omnipotence crowned with the golden cock proudly standing on top. The cock, as a symbol of brave vigilance or compliance. The cock always looks ahead, never backwards.