Maarten Vanden Eynde

A Chain of Events, retrospective exhibition at Mu.ZEE, Ostend, Belgium, 2021

A Chain of Events, retrospective exhibition at Mu.ZEE, Ostend, Belgium, 2021

History is not an amalgam of separate events and inventions, but rather a rhizome or chain of interconnected activities that influence its course, both anthropocentric and without human interaction in origin. 'A Chain of Events' is a sculptural installation that consists of a string of interconnected objects ranging from enlarged electrical insulators and resistors, Venetian trade beads, shells, metal chains, to brass gears and cogs. The rope functions as a value chain that changes from one material into the next as different natural elements become dominant in a certain period of time. Raffia and other plant based ropes are intertwined with copper wires that become a rubber coated transatlantic communication cable, turning into metal chains and stainless steel wire ropes from the shipping industry. As an ancient memory device, the cord is knotted and makes reference to the use of rope, beads, and crystals as money for trade, a practice that was most widespread in a wide range of societies worldwide, and as a means to collect data relating to mathematical measurements (knots), keep records relating to population census, tax obligations, military organization and calendrical information. It weaves together a wide variety of global trading and communication traditions that are built on scarcity, keeping in place economic growth based on inequality and exploitation.