Cloud Cuckoo Land (2012)

Performance Installation, variable dimensions

Cloud Cuckoo Land questions the dynamics within a group or family, focusing on notions of idleness, violence and territory. The installation consists of a greenroom in which six mime artists are idling time away. The room is furnished with a table and chairs, a couch and a filled refrigerator, providing the performers with the basic needs. Five realistic, human scale bird masks are placed on metal stand and arranged around the large table. They represent birds commonly found in cities in the Netherlands and abroad such as a blackbird, a seagull and a pigeon.

The audience witnesses the performers reading a book or a newspaper, eating a sandwich while sitting behind their laptop or talking to each other. A one-way mirror allows the audience to observe the performers, but preventing the performers from seeing them. This aspect is revealed by a second mirror in the back of the space. On the audience’s side of the separating wall, a poster displaying Mike Tyson is hung.

At a certain moment and without apparent reason, a conflict arises which leads the five performers to turn against one. The scapegoat leaves the room, joining the public. The other five get ready by putting on the masks. Armed with a wooden stick, they too leave the greenroom. What follows is a confrontation between the birds and their victim, confronting the audience with their ambiguous role, being both spectator and accomplice.










Upstairs (2011)

HD Video 1:37 min (continuous loop), variable dimensions
(Excerpt)











My father's nature (2011)

HD Video 5:28 min, variable dimensions

'My father's nature' is a short film about the artist's father and his collection of mounted animals. After fixing the ear of an old hare and making a selection from his collection of stuffed animals, he drives them to a nearby forest, placing the animals in and around the trees and plants that grow there.












The Living Room (2011)

3-Channel HD video installation 8:40 min & Single channel screening version 8:05 min, variable dimensions
(Excerpt)

The interior of a Dutch living room is disturbed by the unexpected presence of a large oak tree. Close-ups of different kinds of furniture, potted plants, souvenirs and other personal belongings are carefully depicted. The quiet atmosphere is breached when the large oak tree enters the room, rearranging the interior in a destructive manner. The Living Room thus confronts the viewer with the impact this has to both tree and home, raising questions about their meaning and symbolism within Western culture.

The short essay 'Dwars door de werkelijkheid' by Maria Barnas reflects on 'The Living Room'.
Download the PDF here (in Dutch)








The Others (2011)

Oval shapes, stretch velvet, stands, moving light, variable dimensions








The Knife (stage cutting) (2010)

HD Video 2:24 min, no sound, variable dimensions

Inspired by Jack Goldstein’s 'The Knife' (1975), 'The Knife (stage cutting)' depicts coloured paper cut in half with a glimmering knife. When the paper slides to the sides - recalling theatre curtains being drawn - new coloured backgrounds emerge.








Mirroring 2001: A Space (2009)

SD / HD Video Installation 2:14:00 min, stereo sound, variable dimensions
(Excerpt)

‘Mirroring 2001: A Space’ is a site-specific installation, based on Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey from 1968. The installation reduces this epic film to a single light beam, emphasizing and symbolizing characteristic elements in the film.

To achieve this, the original film is played back in the exhibition space. During the screening a camera is filming the projector from where the light emanates. This recording is then projected using the same projector. This way, a mirrored image of the space is projected capturing the film in a single light beam.








Drawing Home Appliances (2009)

HD Video 3:18 min, no sound, variable dimensions
(Excerpt)








Man with a staircase (2008)

C-print on Dibond, 43 x 65 cm








Seagull in Corridor (2007)

C-print on Dibond, 85 x 129 cm









Mise En Scène (2006)

HD Video Installation 7:00 min, 5.1 surround sound, variable dimensions