Lives and works in Kapellen, Be
An elaborately detailed drawing of Godzilla with two googly eyes - entitled ‘the clairvoyant’, a hand-drawn reproduction of a selfportrait by James Ensor made up entirely of pixels alongside a drawing which simply reads the word ‘Censor’ or a small Venus statue spray-painted gold. William Fort’s work clearly contains art historical and pop culture references which prelude his signature way of working. He chooses specific, visual signifiers, to subsequently reconfigure and re-contextualize them into a direct and personal language.
Although sometimes relying on readymade sculptures, most of the time, he’ll use the archaic medium of drawing. Using pencil, pastel and/or charcoal he immerses himself - often for months - in the creation of a single work. His work also analyses the semantic complementarity between text and image, noticeable in the juxtapositions between a figurative drawing and (a) drawn word(s), where the depicted and the written function as two autonomous, narrative entities that reinforce each other. Through a playful transformation/manipulation of existing visual material and text, William Fort’s work quickly becomes absurd and humorous.
The visual language used is light and optimistic, whimsical and cheeky, dedicated and ingenious. His drawings and ready-made sculptures subvert the seriousness of (political) situations, the art world, and our own personal image-forming. They contain a message that goes against common expectations and clichés. Without imposing a moral message or using a cynical undertone, William Fort, like the proverbial jester, develops his own expression which reads like a visual comedy with barbs.
Sofie Crabbé