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STATES OF AR T
Of your saliva that bites TEXT: MATT ANTONIAK | PHOTO: COURTESY RODOLPHE JANSSEN, BRUSSELS
Set in amongst the steel and iron edifice of BPS22 in Charleroi, Sanam Khatibi presents De Ta Salive Qui Mord – an exhibition that is full of seduction, temptation and excess. Sanam Khatibi is quite rightly one of Belgium’s hottest painters, currently. Enchanted by their dreamy palette, with turquoise waters, verdant trees and hot terracotta earth, her paintings pull you in to a world where men and women appear to frolic happily in the buff. Look closer, however, and you begin to realise that Khatibi’s largeformat canvasses are not all they seem. Like Adam and Eve before them, those present in this apparent Garden of Eden are not having it all their own way. Women have their hair pulled, others are attacked by beasts, whilst animal carcasses lay strewn throughout
the land. Khatibi presents mankind in bestial form, where fear and desire merge and become confused. In this landscape, impulse reigns and power is warped. Alongside the paintings, Khatibi both collects and creates small pseudo-folk sculptures; vases, cups, fruits and animals. Again, whilst
Sanam Khatibi, Under the influence of poison, 2018
being familiar, these trinkets disturb rather than comfort, and are often surrounded by lurking ceramic snakes. The world that Khatibi creates in her installations effortlessly blends a myriad of questions together. She examines the male-female power system, the idea of the west versus the east, danger against desire and the animal against the human. Alarming and alluring in equal parts, it is an exhibition that should not be missed. De Ta Salive Qui Mord opens on 8 June and is on show until 1 September 2019 at BPS22, Charleroi. Matt Antoniak is a visual artist and writer living and working in Newcastle, UK. He works mainly in painting and drawing and is a founding member of the art collective M I L K.
BEER OF THE MONTH
Kompaan Vrijbuiter TEXT & PHOTO: STUART FORSTER
This double porter is liquid evidence that the craft beer movement is alive and thriving in the Netherlands. Kompaan’s Vrijbuiter is available from shops in 33 centilitre bottles and poured as one of the 20 draught beers at the brewery’s taproom in The Hague. The taproom was opened during 2015 in Saturnusstraat — next door to the brewery in Binckhorst district, close to the centre of the city — after crowdfunding raised 150,000 euros. Jasper and Jeroen Kompaan formed their company three years prior to that and Vrijbuiter was one of their earliest recipes. On 29 June, the premises will host the Kompaan Beer Fest, at which 12 breweries from the Netherlands and beyond will showcase their products to a backdrop of live music and food. The name of this brew translates to ‘freebooter’ and its colour is as black as the 90 | Issue 66 | June 2019
background colour of a skull and crossbones flag. Porter is a style of dark beer sometimes confused with stout, a slightly heavier style of beer. After falling from fashion during the last century, porter has seen a revival in recent years, thanks largely to craft brewers. Vrijbuiter foams up into a smooth beige head when poured, ideally into a gobletshaped glass. The aroma of this beer is a cross between roasted malt and fruitiness, with pleasant hints of figs and aniseed. The flavour of Vrijbuiter is dominated by liquorice with subtle hints of vanilla and chocolate. It has a smooth mouthfeel and leaves a sweetish finish. It pairs well with pulled pork, pit beans and slow-cooked brisket.
Brewer: Kompaan Bier Alcohol content: 7.1 per cent
Stuart Forster was named Journalist of the Year at the 2015, 2016 and 2019 Holland Press Awards. Five generations of his family have been actively involved in the brewing industry.