'The Devil - A Life'

You know, at night, when I try to sleep, I close my eyes and see the figurines parading by in sequence -the newborn Devil nestled against the foal, the infant with his ball of fire, the child holding the red monkey, the Devil seducing the girl, the Devil riding off to war through a field of flowers, and then returning on a black horse down a road of skulls, on and on they go, the Devil with his bride and the golden rabbit, the Devil sacrificing the child on the altar, the Devil separated from the world, on and on, the Devil sitting on a wall, his tears pooling around his feet, his chilling, operatic death, and at last his body washed up on a beach, a child crouched by his side reaching out a hand in forgiveness. This procession makes a certain sense and brings me enormous comfort. It draws my own story out of the darkness, out of the chaos, to stand in testament to something. It brings an order to the world and a kind of peace. - Nick Cave

And so to the reason that we're in Brussels; to visit the Xavier Hufkens Gallery and see Nick Cave's ceramic collection 'The Devil - A Life'. 

Seventeen ambiguous pieces, loosely wrapped in a narrative of sorts, ripe for interrogation and speculation: who are the two boys with the Devil as he bleeds to death? Is it just my imagination that 'The Devil In Remorse' so closely resembles Cave himself? We spent a lot longer wandering up and down this row of ceramics that you might expect. 

And did we reach any conclusions? Hm... I don't think it's a puzzle to solve, more an experience to take away and digest, to be informed by, and perhaps from which to take inspiration.