Jan Koos Feijlbriefs levensspiegel

May 28, 2024

Short description:

Maar in die doffe, zwarte nacht, als de wereld slaapt en alleen de sterren waken, voel ik me levendiger dan ooit.
- J. van Oudshoorn, Willem Mertens' levensspiegel

Jan Koos Feijlbrief looked the archetypical civil servant he was, his inner life and writings were those of a free thinker and sensitive soul. Under the name J van Oudshoorn he wrote some of the finest lines written in Dutch literature, about shame, guilt, alienation, inferiority, isolation and youthful infatuation. Over 70 years after he died, Jan Koos Feijlbrief alias J. van Oudshoorn, inspired 12 artists and a publisher to make work that will be on view from June 15 - July 7 at See Lab. Vernissage event June 15 at 17:00 hrs.

Artists:
Zamèr, Emo Verkerk, Gladys, Shani Leseman, My Guides and Me, Tamara Vierbergen, Benny Snouta, Trees Heil, Beck Wyatt, Bernice Nauta, Piyoyo, Rik Möhlmann, J. Joostzoon, Sjuul Joosen, Kadab Sedem, Kim David Bots, 朱慧玮, Hussel Zhu, Giles' Ice Scheme, Caroline Sarneel, GC Heemskerk, Luuk Kuipers and Samieh Shahcheraghi

photos: Sjuul Joosen

Comment

'SOLO - AN EARTHLY MEMORY’

April 7, 2024

Short description:

‘SOLO - AN EARTHLY MEMORY’

‘She descended onto this silent Earth from the endless cosmos above. Although abandoned, this place still holds the stories of the past through the time capsules that are spread over the land. Dreams and memories are glued to the objects that these capsules contain – they speak of fragmented parts of the past and are able to initiate intrinsic, human processes. Thus, the traveller is submerged into stimulating, sensory experiences and the endlessness of her imagination. She experiences for the first time sensations such as taste, sleep and a feeling of longing for a return to the stars.’

Sjuul Joosen is intrigued in his artistry by a constant interaction between his own fantasy and the rules to which reality is subjected. A fascination for the laws of physics and maths grows in his artistic process into surrealistic stories, where the guidelines of reality are questioned and receive a new meaning in their own, transformative world. The installation of Sjuul titled SOLO – An Earthly Memory is an all-encompassing example of this; as flown from another dimension, a woman crashes into a future world in her pointy spaceship, which seems to be an alternative version of Earth itself. The installation creates a surrealistic connection between different places, timelines and sensory experiences, where objects are able to pave a way for an intrinsic and personal journey. Visitors are warmly invited to experience this installation which Sjuul has worked meticulously on for the past six years on Scheveningen beach.

The film will loop every hour. During weekdays the exhibition can also be visited by appointment.

Supported by: Mondriaan Fonds, Stroom Den Haag, and See Lab.

images: Sjuul Joosen

Korte beschrijving:

‘SOLO - EEN AARDSE HERINNERING’

‘Vanuit de dansende sterrenhemel daalde zij neer op een stille Aarde. Hoewel verlaten, draagt deze plek nog de verhalen van het verleden dankzij de tijdcapsules die verspreid zijn over het land. De objecten in deze capsules tonen gefragmenteerde delen van het verleden en zijn tevens in staat om intrinsieke processen in werking te stellen. De reiziger wordt zodoende ondergedompeld in prikkelende, zintuiglijke ervaringen en de eindeloosheid van haar verbeeldingskracht. Zij ervaart voor de eerste keer sensaties zoals smaak, slaap en een gevoel van verlangen voor een terugkeer naar de sterren.’

De installatie van Sjuul Joosen, getiteld SOLO – Een Aardse herinnering, stelt een surrealistische wereld voor waar verscheidene plekken, tijdlijnen en zintuiglijke sensaties samensmelten tot een alternatieve realiteit.

De film zal elk heel uur opnieuw afspelen. Doordeweeks is de tentoonstelling tevens op afspraak te bezoeken.

Gerealiseerd met ondersteuning van het Mondriaan Fonds, Stroom Den Haag en See Lab.

Comment

'EVERYWHEN’

February 25, 2024

Short description:

‘Kia whakatomuri te haere whakamua.’

‘I walk backwards into the future with my eyes fixed on the past.’

‘'Everywhen’

The project challenges us to rethink our relationship with the future in a quest that is guided by Everywhen: a perception of time in which past, present, and future are interconnected. The project demonstrates how this idea of time can become part of our thinking and the way we perceive the city. Through spatial installations, maps and storytelling, the boundaries of this approach are explored. The exhibition shows us what it is like to experience The Hague through the lens of Everywhen.

Full description:

There is a Māori saying: "I walk backwards into the future with my eyes fixed on the past." Nowadays we show little sensitivity to this wisdom. We live in a world in which the future has no place. Yet the choices made today, will have far-reaching consequences for that future. It is a dead-end road. The climate crisis shows that we can no longer ignore the future. We need to broaden our time horizon. In doing so we are faced with a barrier: the future can be vague and abstract and is clouded by uncertainty. This makes the climate crisis also a crisis of perspective.

To escape this perspective crisis, we need to expand the boundaries of our temporal imagination. Designers have the ability – and the responsibility – to play a key role in this challenge. It requires a fundamentally different design approach, which begins with the realization that the Western idea of time – where the present is isolated from the past and the future – may underlie our shortsightedness. Indigenous cultures, where a different sense of time exists, can help us break this cycle. We can draw inspiration from the belief that past, present, and future are interwoven. This fluid idea of time is referred to by Aboriginals as Everywhen. This graduation project demonstrates how Everywhen can become part of the practice of urban and architectural design.

In this quest, three media forms from the designer's standard repertoire provide guidance. Through maps, models, and narratives, we explore how we can perceive and understand the city in the spirit of Everywhen. This approach focuses on The Hague; a city that is formed by divergent time scales. On one hand, the city is shaped by deep geological layers of sand and peat. On the other hand, the city has a long history as the center of political power, which is constantly changing. These interacting time layers provide the perfect conditions to experience the city through the lens of Everywhen.

The collected stories about The Hague form the basis for a series of spatial emblemas. These representations of places in The Hague challenge us to broaden our temporal perspective. Do we look at the city as it was, now is, or as it could be in the future? From the spatial installations, maps, and stories, a new image of the city emerges. The boundary between past, present, and future fades until we reach Everywhen.

images: Daan de Jong

Comment

'MUMURMURMURS’

February 15, 2024

Short description:

‘Murmurmurmurs’

See Lab hosted the exhibition ‘Murmurmurmurs’. Together, the four murs wanted to share their stories and tell them in whispers of their practice. Their exhibition showed their distinctive voices, invited to share more stories, and celebrated together to create a murmur of its own.

Murmurs were innocent and whooshing sounds that came straight from the heart. They were silent, yet telling. As such, the presenting artists contributed their own mur to the presentation of their collective Murmurmurmurs. The four distinctive voices told their own personal stories through their artistic practices. Without a need to scream, they instead whispered their tales in the ways that suited them best. In various forms, shapes, and sizes, they asked you to look and listen, and maybe say something back as well (if you would like to).

The exhibition opened on Friday, February 16th. The following Saturday, the 17th, the audience was welcomed to join the public event of shared storytelling in the exhibition space, and on Sunday, the 18th, a collective dinner closed the exhibition.

photography: Anca Bârjovanu

Comment

ONDERSTROOM (UNDERCURRENT)

November 6, 2023

“The Unknown”

The sea

The shores

The sound

Of breaking waves

The wind

Whispering

Windblown sand

In my face

The sand

Sticking on my skin

The smell

Of salt water

The silent force of

Short description:

‘UNDERCURRENT’

When the light travels from the sun, blue tones disperse once they reach the earth’s atmosphere. A grand blue horizon takes shape because of this colour that scatters into the sky. Something similar occurs once the light reaches the surface of the ocean. Red, yellow and green will be mostly absorbed, but blue travels all the way down, into its depths. The deeper the ocean, the deeper the colour blue will be.

Gazing at the horizon and the clouds it holds, is as looking at the ocean and its waves; a longing for the unattainable that is both bewildering and comforting. ‘The world is blue at its edges and in its depths’[1], Rebecca Solnit beautifully states. The insurmountable distance between these environments and human beings, is captivating and something to endlessly obsess and contemplate over. There is still to this day, so much that is left undiscovered about the ocean and all the species it holds. Its mystery and opacity create not only space for speculation, but also for fantasy and wandering – getting lost in time and thoughts. As such, its inherent distance may, paradoxically, bring us closer to the edges of the world through the process of imagination.

These are elements that capture my mind whilst thinking about Lili Berger and her work as well. Within her artistic practice, Lili allows her mind to roam whilst surrendering herself to the material. By creating endless shapes and forms, which often remind of sea-like creatures, she lets go of the notion of time and sinks deeply into her subconsciousness. Here, she composes her own introspective landscape, where imagination, emotions and intuition are able to flow freely into their tactile translations. As Lili surrenders to the material, she surrenders to the invisible elements that move her from within – creating space for a sense of freedom which reminds of the endlessness of the ocean itself.

Lili Berger’s solo-exhibition ‘Undercurrent’ invites visitors to discover all the elements that move and wander below the surface. With a beautiful sensitivity for materials such as ceramics, embroidery and different type of wire, she continues to expand her unique artistic and artisanal expression. The joy Lili feels whilst making work, sparks through in the way she treats the material, as it is loaded with so much thought, feeling and intention in every detail. It reminds me how important it is to let go and allow yourself to feel free within your emotions. To let them be as clouds in the sky or waves in the ocean - constantly moving, shaping, shifting and turning. Constantly fading and reappearing around the conscious surface.

You are warmly invited to experience and celebrate the mesmerising world that Lili Berger creates within her artistic work.

[1] Rebecca Solnit: ‘A field guide to getting lost’ (2017), Canongate Books, page 29

Korte beschrijving:

‘ONDERSTROOM’

Blauwe tonen verspreiden zich, wanneer het licht dat vanaf de zon naar beneden reist de atmosfeer van de aarde raakt. Een uitgestrekte, blauwe horizon vormt zich door de kleur die door de lucht verspreidt. Iets vergelijkbaars gebeurt wanneer het licht het oppervlak van de oceaan raakt; rood, geel en groen zullen voor een groot deel geabsorbeerd worden, maar blauw reist naar beneden, richting de diepte. Hoe dieper de oceaan, des te dieper de kleur van het blauw.

Kijken naar de horizon en de wolken die hier bewegen, is als kijken naar de oceaan en diens golven; een verlangen voor het onbereikbare, dat verbijstert en troost tegelijkertijd. ‘De wereld is blauw in diens grenzen en dieptes’[1], is wat Rebecca Solnit zo mooi omschrijft. De onoverkoombare afstand tussen deze plekken en mensen, is iets om onszelf eindeloos over te verwonderen. Er is tot op de dag van vandaag nog zoveel te ontdekken over de oceaan en alles wat hier leeft. Als een sluier omhult het donkere water de zichtbaarheid van alles dat hier voortbeweegt. Dit creëert niet alleen ruimte voor speculatie, maar ook voor fantasie - een mogelijkheid om jezelf te verliezen in gedachten en tijd.

Zodanig kan de afstand ons, op paradoxale wijze, dichter bij de randen van de wereld brengen, door de kracht van verbeelding. Dit zijn flarden van mijn gedachten wanneer ik nadenk over Lili Berger en haar werk. Lili laat zich leiden door haar intuïtie terwijl zij zich overgeeft aan het materiaal. Door het creëren van eindeloze vormen – die vaak doen denken aan zee-achtige organismen – laat zij het idee van tijd los en zinkt zij diep in haar onderbewustzijn. Hier componeert zij haar eigen introspectieve landschap, waar haar verbeelding, emoties en intuïtie vrijelijk in hun tactiele vertalingen kunnen vloeien. Wanneer Lili zich overgeeft aan het materiaal, geeft zij zichzelf tevens over aan de onzichtbare elementen die haar van binnenuit drijven. Hierdoor wordt er ruimte gecreëerd voor een gevoel van vrijheid, een gevoel dat doet herinneren aan de eindeloosheid van de oceaan zelf.

Lili Berger’s solotentoonstelling ‘Onderstroom’ nodigt bezoekers uit om alle elementen te ontdekken die zich onder het oppervlak voortbewegen. Met een prachtige gevoeligheid voor materialen zoals keramiek, borduren en verschillende toepassingen van draad, blijft zij haar unieke artistieke en ambachtelijke expressie ontwikkelen. Het geluk dat Lili omarmt wanneer zij werk maakt, schittert door de manier waarop zij het materiaal behandelt – elk detail is geladen met zoveel gedachten, gevoelens en intentie. Het herinnert aan het gevoel van loslaten en je vrij voelen in je eigen emoties. Om ze als wolken in de lucht of golven in de oceaan te laten zijn – voortdurend in beweging, verschuiven en draaien. Voortdurend vervagend en opnieuw verschijnend, rondom het bewuste oppervlak.

[1] Rebecca Solnit: ‘A field guide to getting lost’ (2017), Canongate Books, pagina 29

Text/ curation: Catelijne Boele
Photography: Jacob Ganslmeier & Lili Berger

Comment

Program

Jan Koos Feijlbriefs levensspiegel

'SOLO - AN EARTHLY MEMORY’

'EVERYWHEN’

'MUMURMURMURS’

ONDERSTROOM (UNDERCURRENT)