Various Exhibition Titles (2019)
exhibition and public programme curated for MAMA Rotterdam, consisting of five site specific (new) works at MAMA's showroom by Florence Jung (CH/FR), Elias Cafmeyer (BE), Mischa Doorenweerd (NL), Marijn Ottenhof (NL) and Natasha Taylor (UK/NL).
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The exhibition was accompanied by four public events at MAMA, St. Laurenskerk, Operator Radio and Club Haug with contributions by Jesse Brinkerhof, Steven de Peven, Dante van Elburg, Dragan Glamocic, Ronald Snijders, Maarten Bel, Michiel Ubels, Krista Smulders, Fran Hoebergen and Yahaira Brito Morfe.
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The exhibition Various Exhibition Titles took place at MAMA Rotterdam from 27 September to 24 November. During this period MAMA's showroom was transformed into a theatre like space, displaying the different views on the Witte de Withstraat from between red velor curtains. Artists Marijn Ottenhof, Natasha Taylor, Mischa Doorenweerd, Florence Jung and Elias Cafmeyer were invited to each select one of the space's window frames to create a script or scenario that added to, or otherwise influenced, the daily life visible through this exact window frame. The following text was published on the exhibition flyer:
"Dear bystanders and other people not yet part of the script, You are reading this text in English, which probably means you expect to read a translated version of the original text, which is written in Dutch [on the previous page]. Unfortunately, there is no English translation available. Here's something else instead: Versions are an important part of Various Exhibition Titles. The works presented in this exhibition use daily life on the streets around the showroom as a backdrop. People, cars, birds and many other things passing by, the weather changes, and the supermarket across the street is kicking off it's latest marketing campaign. Continuously evolving real-life situations like these influence the way you, the visitor of this exhibition, experience the story the artists want to share with you. So, when your friends visit this exhibition two hours after you, their vision of the show might be rather different from yours. |
So, which came first? Just like the chicken and the egg, humanity is still unsure wether fictional stories shape society of if society shapes fiction. Ideally, the two of them would be in a never-ending but engaging conversation, responding to each other thoughtfully. Perhaps they can even change roles every now and then. Let's hope that if society gets really very drunk one night, fiction will be there to hold its hair back.
Five artists have all been working, thinking, travelling and - hopefully - relaxing for quite some time to get this show together. Despite not previously knowing each other, they seem to have one thing in common - the notion of suggestion is key to their artistic practises. What do you think? Is showing the idea of something worth the same as showing the thing itself, or is it worth even more? Maybe it's the impact of either that really makes the difference. There are three titles for this exhibition: 'A Research Against Research', 'Stunt Doubles' and 'Various Exhibition Titles'. Just like the showroom's ever-changing surroundings, these titles propose different versions of the same exhibition. Which version would you like it to be? It's okay, you can pick more than one. Anyway... A very warm welcome to this highly scripted exhibition full of real-life situations." All three exhibition titles were accompanied by a unique wall text, each offering a different perspective on the exhibition. Photos by Bo Bannink, Lotte Stekelenburg and Willem de Haan. |