VHDG Lokaal: Fabulous Future

From September 30 to November 21, the artist collective Fabulous Future will be in residence at Kunstinitiatief VHDG. After several weeks of research, they will present their newly developed work at Kunstruimte H47.

Fabulous Future is both a collective entity and a continuously evolving project, where collaboration, research and creation intertwine. During their residency the collective delves into the concept of ‘mud’ and ways of working together—exploring not just what they create but how they create, allowing their process-driven methodology to guide the project in unexpected directions.

it’s just the mud again

The process began with a consideration of the surrounding landscape: its history, its transformation and its representations—the ways in which the mud has been constantly controlled and managed over time. It also became about ways of working together collectively, their relational dynamics as a group, a collective of individuals coming together in a new context. How can a group function when members are scattered across different countries, spending much of their time apart? How can this form of collective work and self-organisation enable unique, process-oriented and critical productions, where everyday rituals become integral to the creative process?

As the project progressed, the group chose to immerse themselves in the muddy aspects of collaboration, exploring the messiness of ideas and moments of stuckness. Instead of striving for perfect harmony or resolution, they lean into constant movement, reshaping their methods and embracing uncertainty. Through this, they explore what it means to allow a process to lead the work, to let go of control, and to remain open to unexpected outcomes.

it’s just the mud again is filled with found materials and traces from another time. Messiness spills from one room into the next, with the mud existing in literal and metaphorical representations. Familiar and unfamiliar relics and imagery can be found amidst the space, along with contributions by Juliette Lizotte, Malissa Cañez Sabus and Philip Coyne.

Education

Throughout their residency, Fabulous Future collaborated with local students from Aeres MBO and Firda College. Through collective making workshops, the group co-creates clay sculptures, incorporating collective ideas and labour into the exhibition. These workshops mirror the larger themes of their practice: fostering dialogue, shared effort, and learning through doing.

From September 30 to November 21, their residency culminates in an exhibition at Kunstruimte H47, where the collective’s explorations manifest as a spatial and material interrogation of collaboration.

This exhibition was made in collaboration with Fabulous Future and Roísín Douglas.