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Lot Essay
"I burn heavier than allowed and foreseen.
I burn and not only for myself
but also bring fire and light to others
in the same way
have I received fire and light from others."- The Emperor of Loss (Jan Fabre)
This epigraph accompanied a version of Jan Fabre's resplendent life-size bronze The Man Who Gives Fire when it was exhibited in Zoetermeer, Holland. The poem refers the Greek myth of Prometheus who stole Fire from Zeus to liberate mankind and show them their true potential. As a consequence of his act, Zeus condemned Prometheus to eternal suffering.
Cast in the shape of Fabre himself, The Man Who Gives Fire thus illuminates the way in which Fabre, time and again, uses corporeality as the focal point for the boundary between life and death, suffering and fulfilment. Simultaneously, the work serves to emphasise Fabre's belief that the artists' role is one of self sacrifice through self revelation.
I burn and not only for myself
but also bring fire and light to others
in the same way
have I received fire and light from others."- The Emperor of Loss (Jan Fabre)
This epigraph accompanied a version of Jan Fabre's resplendent life-size bronze The Man Who Gives Fire when it was exhibited in Zoetermeer, Holland. The poem refers the Greek myth of Prometheus who stole Fire from Zeus to liberate mankind and show them their true potential. As a consequence of his act, Zeus condemned Prometheus to eternal suffering.
Cast in the shape of Fabre himself, The Man Who Gives Fire thus illuminates the way in which Fabre, time and again, uses corporeality as the focal point for the boundary between life and death, suffering and fulfilment. Simultaneously, the work serves to emphasise Fabre's belief that the artists' role is one of self sacrifice through self revelation.