Drawing on a research-based approach within his artistic practice, Paul Devens develops bodies of works that connect sound and architectural elements.
[5] Previous solo exhibitions include Les Brasseurs (Liège, 2019);[6] bb15 (Linz, 2016);[7] The Museum of Fine Art (Split, 2015);[8] Z33, Z-out (Hasselt, 2012);[9] Diapason Gallery (New York, 2011);[10] OCA/ISP (Oslo, 2004).
Paul Devens's work stems from a longstanding investigation into how the historical, political and social layers of a specific context can be processed through sound in relation to the role of architecture within that given landscape.
His field research results in sound installations that show the social situation of the place in a way that integrates the voice of political minorities, consequently amplifying an amendment to what is considered ‘reality’.
The first installation of the series is a wooden scale model of an abandoned store in the inaccessible UN-controlled buffer zone of the divided city of Lefkoşa / Lefkosia in Cyprus.
The architectural model of the original hotel deconstructs over a period of ten minutes, reminiscing of the collapsing political system in former Bosnia Herzegovina during the war.
[22] Early 2019, Devens presented his newest work ‘Dock / Ancien Palais de Justice’ at Les Brasseurs in Liège.
For this work, the floor plan of the old Palais of justice in Dakar was used as a point of reference, and thereupon scaled down to fit the exhibition space of Les Brasseurs.
[23] The work brings together various elements that initially don't belong together: the reference to the architecture of the original Palais of justice as well as the dimensioning of the floor plan serving as a stage for sound.
Wanting to project the past onto the present day, ‘Dock / Ancien Palais de Justice’ delivers critique onto colonial history through highlighting and displacing the modernist architectural influence, and makes this audible in sound.
Next to the spatial sound installation, Devens worked as a curator in collaboration with Cedrik Fermont and developed a listening space revolving around the theme of ‘habitat’.
This collective can be defined as an improvisational non-pop band and is characterized by its use of circuit-bent instruments, analogue synthesizers, voice and Game Boy.