When Doves Cry

When Doves Cry is an installation composed of recurring elements: concrete tiles, plaster doves, and two hats. These materials are presented in a different constellation each time, subtly shifting their meaning and relationships. The plaster doves—silent, fragile, and still—stand in contrast to the real doves freely moving through the garden of the Bijloke. This creates a tension between the fixed and the fleeting, between staging and reality.

The title refers to the iconic song by Prince, which centers on emotional disarray and the elusive nature of human relationships. That same sense of absence resonates in the installation—an echo of motion now stilled, of what remains unspoken.

During the Bijloke Wonderland festival, the work enters into dialogue with other visual projects in th garden. In addition, the installation becomes the setting for a live musical performance by Mariam and Cristina (Conservatorium Ghent), where sound, space, and image merge into a temporary choreography.