MASEREEL

For the final edition of Hold the Space, Italian artist Susanna Ingignoli created a special door-handle edition that lies at the heart of her project The Shortcut to Here. This limited-edition object — a leaf-shaped handle bearing the names “Kasterlee” and “Antwerp” on either side — acts as the symbolic key to the imaginary portal that connects the two worlds in her installation. As an autonomous artwork, the edition offers a tangible translation of Ingignoli’s poetic universe.

Ingignoli was an artist-in-residence at MASEREEL during the summer of 2024. She is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice began with a deep passion for drawing and gradually expanded into graphic techniques and a wide range of experimental processes.

During her frequent travels between Antwerp and Kasterlee, her attention was repeatedly drawn to a small, curious door in Antwerp’s Central Station. This unexpected detail sparked her imagination and became the seed of her installation. She began to see it as a magical passage — a direct connection between the two places.

From this idea, Ingignoli constructed a fantastical world inside the showcase at the entrance of MASEREEL: a portal linking Antwerp and Kasterlee. The magical atmosphere of MASEREEL — hidden in the forest and surrounded by local folklore, such as the stories of the Kabouterberg — became a key source of inspiration. In the work, she intertwines the iconic roots of Kasterlee with symbolic hands that reference Antwerp’s history.

The door-handle edition serves as the key to this imaginary portal — a small, carefully crafted object that encapsulates the essence of the project and is available as a unique artistic edition.