Emerging Artists Commission: A view from the Outside
Kevin Veenhuizen
23 June – 10 July 2016

During the exhibition ‘Japan, Archipelago of the House’, there is an installation in the Looiersgracht 60 basement gallery by The Future Printing and Publishing (Vincent Schipper and Klara van Duijkeren) and Kevin Veenhuizen Architects. Using video material and physical constructions to emulate the sensation of living inside a Japanese home ‘A view from the Outside’ is a response to the exhibition upstairs. Its goal is to provide further depth with “soft” and personal elements within the content of the exhibition.

This has been done by centering the exhibition around two themes ‘Light/Surface’ and ‘Dark/Private’. Rather than creating a dichotomy; light versus dark, black versus white – this approach is about creating a grey context for the question: what and where is intimacy? The Future Printing and Publishing want to highlight the importance of looking at how an object is used when appreciating its design. In the context of the Japanese house, it is about looking beyond the fascinating aesthetic and decorative qualities and understanding the function that the minimalist design has in creating a home.

The exhibition realizes this by combining video works with physical, constructed spaces. The physical elements of the installation consist of two separate, box-like spaces with cut frames through which the audience is able to view the video works. This creates a new spatial context through which the audience can experience the videos. The installation represents not only the idea of inside versus outside, but also to plays with notions of public view and private gaze.

The videos on display provide a visual representation of The Future’s personal experiences of the Japanese house. These consist of pre-recorded material and publicly available sourced material which has been edited to create two coherent and related stories. These video works and the sound installation also being exhibited imply the world beyond the walls of Looiergsraght 60. Instead of looking at the Japanese house, this multidisciplinary piece by The Future and Kevin Veenhuizen Architects invites us to come in and experience it.

Looiersgracht 60 Emerging Artists Commission

Looiersgracht 60’s Emerging Artists Commission is a series of site-specific installations by young emerging artists, designers, curators and architects. The commission will give artists and creatives the opportunity to create new work expressly for exhibition at Looiersgracht 60. The program is geared towards transdisciplinary practices with a focus on contemporary political, scientific, aesthetic, social and technological concerns. Special attention is given to ambitious and imaginative projects otherwise lacking in institutional support.