Decor_, 2017
Decor is an experiment by Thomas Kuijpers, departing from the way images to him most of the time are incapable of transmitting emotions on a deeper level, because they are always approached by him from a professional point of view, and it is quite impossible to ‘turn this off’. The content gets rationalised and analysed before a true emotional respons can settle. He’s less used to textual emotion in that way, so the response to an emotion transmitted by text is usually much stronger, and less superficial.
Thomas made a series of works, they are landscapes, without persons; decors of the most horrific, repulsive videos he’s seen in years: propaganda videos by IS. After watching fragments of those videos, feeling numb, being not as emotionally disturbed as he would have expected while thinking about them, he started looking for writers, who could write a new scene to fill this decor, in an attempt to see if this combination can evoke a new feeling that, to him, is stronger than the original image. An attempt to override the handicap of the over-rationalisation of images by partially transforming them into a new format. These empty decors will be presented with a small textbook, in which new interpretations of these scenes to fill the decor will be printed.
The project was initiated by Foam: a project called Foam Farm, as a part of the Collaborate-series.
Decor is an experiment by Thomas Kuijpers, departing from the way images to him most of the time are incapable of transmitting emotions on a deeper level, because they are always approached by him from a professional point of view, and it is quite impossible to ‘turn this off’. The content gets rationalised and analysed before a true emotional respons can settle. He’s less used to textual emotion in that way, so the response to an emotion transmitted by text is usually much stronger, and less superficial.
Thomas made a series of works, they are landscapes, without persons; decors of the most horrific, repulsive videos he’s seen in years: propaganda videos by IS. After watching fragments of those videos, feeling numb, being not as emotionally disturbed as he would have expected while thinking about them, he started looking for writers, who could write a new scene to fill this decor, in an attempt to see if this combination can evoke a new feeling that, to him, is stronger than the original image. An attempt to override the handicap of the over-rationalisation of images by partially transforming them into a new format. These empty decors will be presented with a small textbook, in which new interpretations of these scenes to fill the decor will be printed.
The project was initiated by Foam: a project called Foam Farm, as a part of the Collaborate-series.
Textual contributions by (in order of appearance):Daan Gielis, Lucas Viriato, Airco Caravan, Anna Buccheri, Jasmijn Krol, Annika Pettini, Bakr al Jaber, Carla Besora, Marc Heinen, Iacopo Seri, Jasper Palstra, Fieke van Berkom, Paola Paleari, Lieke Smit, Elisa des Dorides, Daan Doesborgh, Pauline Bordaneil, Marcus&Sema, Taco Hidde Bakker, Melanie Hyams, Sadav Malyarovíc, Thaís Simões, Deirdre Canavan, Marjolein van de Water, Irene Siekman, Chiara Bistolfi, Bob Verbruggen, Jasper Giljam, Jip Loots, Melissa Domacassée, Joost de Jong, Luhea Noriskin, Juliet Gagnon, Nicol Guerra, Esme Boggis, Meral van de Velde, Liza Wolters, Liesbeth Schreuder, Anna Püschel, Simona Iamonte, Gijs Ter Haar, Paulo Fehlauer, Danny X Kuiper, Kim Kluijtmans, Rob van Kaam, Zerahja Kartono, Marijn Ottenhof, Michael van Kekem, and Guilherme Figueiredo.
Installation Shots from Mucho Mas, Torino, 2018 - photos by Mucho Mas
Exhibitions:
Sexyland / Foam Farm (Amsterdam, NL)
There Is No Threath (New York City, USA)
Mucho Mas! (Torino, IT)
Reviews:
La Repubblica (IT)
News Spettacolo (IT)
Publications:
de Correspondent (NL)
het Parool (NL)
Generazione Critica (ENG)
Exhibitions:
Sexyland / Foam Farm (Amsterdam, NL)
There Is No Threath (New York City, USA)
Mucho Mas! (Torino, IT)
Reviews:
La Repubblica (IT)
News Spettacolo (IT)
Publications:
de Correspondent (NL)
het Parool (NL)
Generazione Critica (ENG)
