L'Âge d'or / De Gouden Eeuw

Behind the scenes of utopia

Two decades far into the 21^st century, the larger part of the world population is still driven by the fata morgana of a Golden Age, a utopia of endless abundance that is accessible to everyone. In industrialized countries this period of emancipation witnessed the rise of a middle class that generated unprecedented wealth. A world-wide movement that was fed by the universal wage work and the development of mass consumption and the leisure society.

In the trilogy Golden Age artists Igor Cardellini and Tomas Gonzalez question the foundations of our time. Via a 'conducted tour' they guide you as a first-class tourist along banks, offices and shopping centres. It's places we pass every day but which -apart from their function- we don't pay much attention to. Yet these places are at the heart of globalization. On the basis of the architecture of these buildings, the three visits form an archaeological trilogy for the present time, along the bulwarks of capitalism, wage work and consumption.

This participatory experience puts you as a visitor in the centre, together with your group mates. With every step in this special visit, you get closer to the exceptional discipline that is necessary to reach a gold leaf varnished height in history.