Reimagining mythology

David Altmejd’s latest exhibition, Prélude pour un nouvel ordre mondial, is on view at Xavier Hufkens Gallery in Brussels until February 8th, 2025. This project presents a bold fusion of sculptures and drawings, marking the first time the Canadian artist has combined these mediums. Altmejd uses this integration to explore connections between past and present ideas in his evolving work.

The exhibition draws on the natural world, introducing a pantheon of hybrid, anthropomorphic beings that transcend the physical realm. Swans take center stage, transformed into musical instruments that symbolize harmony between nature and music. Their seven colored keys evoke cultural and spiritual references, from numerology’s union of material and spiritual worlds to the seven notes in a musical scale.

Among the highlights is Nocturne no 1, a sculpture where human hands shape a mythical whale, embodying transformation and regeneration. Cosmic and elemental symbols, like a cosmic egg and a diamond-like carbon structure, suggest nature’s cyclical and mysterious forces.

Altmejd’s mixed-media drawings further expand this narrative with fantastical grids and distortions inspired by space-time theories. These works, independent of preparatory studies, delve into mythology and the unconscious, featuring cryptic symbols and surreal imagery that blur imagination and reality.

With this exhibition, Altmejd synthesizes organic and synthetic forms, life and death, to challenge perceptions of reality. By merging mythological references, Jungian psychology, and scientific principles, he creates a universe that is both unsettling and familiar, inviting viewers to reflect on humanity’s connection to nature and the cosmos.