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Welcome to het Van Abbemuseum. The exhibition ‘Bodywork’ consists of five interconnected solo shows by internationally renowned artists: Zach Blas, Praneet Soi, Navine G. Khan-Dossos, Laure Prouvost en Ajla R. Steinvåg.
Each artist looks at the body not as a natural given, but in relation to the culture in which it operates.
Spread across the galleries you will find five videos in which the artists introduce their work.
The tapestry ‘This means tableau’ forms a playful index where objects, animals, and plants get a new meaning. The goat, that’s you! Watch the video in gallery 7 for more information.
Over the last two years, Praneet Soi spoke to various people in Eindhoven about their work and the influence Philips had on it. In the installation ‘Centurion’ (on view in gallery 2 and 3) Soi shows the love they have for their profession.
Watch the video in gallery 3 for more information.
This installation is titled ‘Anamorphosis’, meaning a distorted image that only looks realistic from a certain angle or through an optical aid. Soi uses anamorphoses as a metaphor for the political climate of Palestine.
In 2019, Praneet Soi visited agricultural factories and workshops in Palestine to obtain insight into the strained political relations and their effects on productivity and entrepreneurship. In this installation Soi shares his observations and experiences.
This video is a montage of footage of the landscape, recordings and conversations with a.o. a grape grower and olive oil producer, text, and images of drawings made by Soi on the spot. The delicate style shows dedication, and is a metaphor for the fragile relations between the different populations.
Navine G. Khan-Dossos made this work, consisting of one-hundred 1 x 1m paintings, in response to the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in October 2018.
Each painting has a unique combination of patterns based on a specific article chosen from a large amount of media material collected and archived online by Khan-Dossos.
In the exhibition you can use the computers to search for the meaning of the gouaches. After clicking, you can see how many patterns the gouache consists of and which news item it is based on.
Through the link below you can listen to a podcast by British newspaper The Guardian to learn more about spyware and the ways it is used by various governments.
In this gallery, Laure Prouvost creates a landscape of sand and objects of Venetian glass. Together with the video it invites you to make new connections based on your intuition and senses.
If fixed meanings are called into question, space opens up for wordplay and indirect connections. The artist encourages you to have fun and give new meanings to existing concepts. The tapestry in gallery 2 can be used as a dictionary.
The title of the video ‘Dit Learn’ plays on the French word dit (says or has said) and the English proposition de-. Through a fast game of memory, video footage and unrelated words appear side by side. The viewer is encouraged to remember them.
With the installation ‘Interbody’, Ajla R. Steinvåg questions the use of the human body as a material, and corresponding ethical questions to this practice. Human material now has a market value, leading to difficult choices and malpractice.
This gallery is a reconstruction of the office of Michael Mastromarino. The figure in blue, apathetically leaning against the wall, depicts the addicted surgeon. Also on display are fake limbs and tissue, and sculptures of so-called pain pyramids.
Ajla R. Steinvågs use of silicone creates a lifelike effect, whilst being an example of artificiality. The installation raises questions on the malleability of the body, and whether we should automatically consider this as beneficial.
Across six screens a video is shown of a lizard, alternated with images generated by artificial intelligence. The sound is a compilation of songs inspired by the Doors, you hear crystal singing bowls and other effects.
At the centre of the gallery you’ll find a cabinet with smartdrugs. The pattern on the floor and the neon sculpture are based on sacred geometry. Artificial plants create the atmosphere of an open plan office, referring to the companies in Silicon Valley.
Zach Blas’ installation ‘The Doors’ immerses you in a world of psychedelics, drugs and artificial intelligence. The title refers to the legendary Los Angeles rock band The Doors, with lead-singer Jim Morrison, aka ‘The Lizard King’.
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