«PLUS» & Y D S is a film that centers around the work and ideas of Ghent-based artist Yves De Smet (1946-2004). The film focuses on De Smet's encounters in 1965 with fellow artist Mark Verstockt, who was 15 years his senior, and the events he organised in 1965-1966 at the Academy Council Chamber)of the University of Ghent. With the help of other artists from his generation, including Gerard Geerinckx, Willy Plompen, Albert Rubens, and Jan Van Den Abbeel, De Smet presented a series of exhibitions, discussions, and performances under the symbol " + ". These events, collectively called the «PLUS» evenings, became a significant cultural phenomenon. To formalise the alliance among the participants, De Smet even designed a membership card, the «PLUS» card. This unique artefact takes center stage in the film, becoming a key symbol of the movement and the creative collaborations it fostered.

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The Academy Council Chamber, where the PLUS evenings were held, serves as the setting for a gripping series of events in PLUS & Y D S. An older artist attempts to lure a younger artist onto the path of geometric abstraction, a journey he himself has resolutely followed. Through numerous letters exchanged between friends separated by compulsory military service, playful teasing and jokes unfold, yet none manage to offer the guidance they seek. The drama reaches its climax with a mysterious transaction involving a work of art. Does PLUS stand for “positive thinking” as envisioned by De Smet, or an idealistic program of “constructive (and constructed) ethics of life” as defined by Geerinckx? Or is it simply a logo for a one-man enterprise?

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In black-and-white (and occasionally in color during more frugal moments), the film features a compelling selection of photographs and archival materials that were, until recently, presumed lost. These visual elements are paired with an impressive soundtrack that includes fragments from works by composer Emmanuel Van Weerst (a participant in the second «PLUS» evening), mixed by Laszlo Umbreit, who also contributed an original composition of his own.

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In De Witte Raaf, art critic Christoph Van Gerrewey wrote about «PLUS» & Y D S: "A number of the events (…) are enacted once again (and very convincingly), juxtaposed with historic images and text fragments in voice-over. The result is a lightly ironic and humorous, but also a pleasing, secretively mysterious introduction.”

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«PLUS» & Y D S was realised by Koen Brams and Lisa Spilliaert. It premiered on April 29, 2022, at Convent in Ghent, in conjunction with the exhibition «PLUS» and Yves De Smet: Ideology, Camaraderie and Rivalry on the Playing Field of Art in Ghent between 1965 and 1970. The eponymous book, published by Posture Editions, was released simultaneously.