Can you explain the concept behind the two-part exhibition?
ARIANE: We wanted to do something about the fact that you are constantly being watched when entering the public space. It’s actually a bizarre phenomenon, that is always portrayed as a security measure for the citizen, but I see it more as a means of controlling the greater public. You usually don’t realize you’re being registered on camera, which I think is rather scary.
YASMIN: Starting from that idea, we wanted to design two exhibitions, where the work is created together with the audience during the first one. We want to set up the space with surveillance cameras, sound and motion sensors, which register the trajectory of the visitors. Through the different monitors they can also observe themselves. We also want to examine how they respond to that kind of confrontation with themselves.
How do you want to process that material?
ARIANE: The images of the first exhibition will be mounted and projected in the space. Winnie will work with the registered movements by creating out a graphic framework based on the trails of the visitors.
YASMIN: The sound recordings will be adapted to the motion sensors and we also want to record the final result on CD. We don’t yet know what the results will yield, but creation through collaboration is in itself an important motive. Actually, it largely depends on the people who pass by!
Do you consider the participatory as a fruitful way to make art more realistic?
YASMIN: I’m very interested in Allan Kaprow, who wanted to depart from the way art was perceived and traded at the end of the 1950’s. For example, he organized happenings where he made brief schematic assignments for the spectators. It was often not recorded, so the event itself was the text, how people dealt with those everyday instructions, so less of a commodity.
ARIANE: I notice that I’m starting to think more and more about my environment, society and how things could be different. Art is still something in itself, it should be more deeply rooted in reality.
YASMIN: Indeed, either it’s something elitist, or it is being marginalized. That’s also one of the reasons why I want to spent all my time creating. Like Camus’ philosophy about the useless; I believe that by immersing yourself in it you can ensure a positive turn. I see it rather as a counter-reaction to emphasize the pointlesness in order to put important things in perspective. And furthermore, occupying your time with art is a political act in a certain way.
Do you have other collaborations running?
YASMIN: I’m also working on a music project, which started with the The Forbidden Boys, a project by Ultra Eczema that appealed to me very much because of the collaborative aspect. I was already working on my own stuff but this seemed like a good starting point. Together with a few musicians we performed several times and then I continued with Clara Lissen as De Batteries. We consider ourselves a sound laboratory because we use all kinds of instruments mostly found at flea markets. We get very enthusiastic about the sounds that we sometimes manage to produce, but it doesn’t always have to be immaculate.
ARIANE: I started art school with two orientation years, where I got to know different art forms. Now I’m mostly busy with graphics. What appealed to me back then was the experimental and deformable. I’m someone who works in a very perfectionistic way, meaning that I try to delve a deeper understanding of the work itself and it’s execution of performative aspects. I try not to think too much about form, because that often stops me in my tracks. After all, you can always get something out of all art forms and bring them together to come up with something new. Previously, I followed a training as a make-up artist, where I also found it to be important to accentuate precisely those characteristics that distinguish people from each other instead of disguising them, which did not really fit with the program. The projects I love to do are those that grant a lot of freedom to contribute a part to the whole. One video for Stef van Looveren was one of those opportunities, I was very lucky to be a part of.
YASMIN: Winnie mainly works on spatial installations, often inspired by scientific research. She also had a radio program on Radio Centraal about UFO’s! Another interesting project of her started with documenting pigeons, how they move and react to queues from their surroundings, which she linked to sound recordings. I also like to work with sound in that manner, especially in relation to chance.
WORK IN PROGRESS // MAY I HAVE THIS DANCE?
Work in progress: 29 and 30 Nov from 6 pm to midnight
EXPO // MAY I HAVE THIS DANCE
Vernissage: 6 Dec from 7 pm -10 pm
Expo: 7 to 9 December from 1 pm – 6 pm