For the inaugural edition of Independent Brussels in 2016, Dürst Britt & Mayhew presented works by Mexican artist Raúl Ortega Ayala and Dutch artist Pieter Paul Pothoven. Both artists are no stranger to iconoclasm and have a strong predilection for the application of scientific techniques within their artistic practice, be it the use of X-rays on paintings or diamond turning on an antique bronze mirror. These techniques are used to strip away layers of time in order to create new engagements with history. Ortega Ayala’s works reveal images that are hidden under paintings from various museum collections. Pothoven gives back use value to two corroded antique mirrors, in order for us to look at ourselves in an unexpected light.
