26/07/2026
‘Just like Belgium’ | Art collaboration Kris Martin x Georg Hornemann
Yellow gold 750/ooo, coloured gemstones
Seen through coloured glasses, not only Belgium, but the entire world naturally appears to be more beautiful than it actually is. With the work ‘Just like Belgium’ (2010), Kris Martin alludes to the fact that there is no such thing as an objective, neutral view of the world and the phenomena that surround us. We only ever see what is presented to us through our pre-coloured (through socialization, previous education, collective knowledge, etc.) perspective.
Similarly, our view of art is a preconceived one, as we usually do not look at artworks objectively, but rather subjectively, coloured by the aspects and values that curators, critics, collectors and specialists assign to them.
The elegant shape of the glasses and the artistic cut of the gemstones deliberately underline the question of how seductively and perhaps even willingly we are prepared to see the world as beautiful. Who wouldn't want to put on this precious object just for the sake of experiencing its mesmerizing view?
Kris Martin does not reveal the extent to which the title is an allusion specifically to Belgium's world view, but a tongue-in-cheek glance at Belgium as a country with major contradictions cannot be ruled out, especially if one is familiar with the subtle irony in Kris Martin's work.
The tangible simplicity and comprehensibility of the work's message is one of the core characteristics of Kris Martin's entire oeuvre: designing conceptual works in such a way that they can be experienced immediately, not only revealed through background knowledge, but at first glance - here, in the most literal sense of the term.
Kris Martin Atelier GEORG HORNEMANN Claudia Hornemann
