"Squatters Number 2: Creative Use and Re-use of 'Occupied Space'"
2001-10-07 until 2001-12-02
Witte de With Center for Contemportary Art
Rotterdam, , NL

As part of the Cultural Capital programs of Rotterdam and Porto, Witte de With, Museu Serralves, and Porto 2001 have invited a group of international artists to make new work which explores the city and urban space. With: Massimo Bartolini; Alexandre Estrela; Jeanne van Heeswijk; José Antonio Hernandez-Diez; Rita Magalhaes; Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle; Honoré d'O; Gert Robijns; William Speakman; Simon Starling.

The resulting exhibition Squatters consists of two parts. Squatters #1, on view through September 23, focuses on the creative use and re-use of 'occupied space'.

Squatters #2 features works which explore the city's morphology and the experience of architectural space. By describing, outlining and altering various spaces, these works visualize a series of special relations between sensory perception and the physical environment.

An installation by Jeanne van Heeswijk (in collaboration with Rolf Engelen and Siebe Thissen) deals with the history of the Rotterdam squatters movement. William Speakman designs a small church after Le Corbusiers Chapel of Notre Dame du Haut in Ronchamp. Inside the church, he grows tomatoes under artificial light.

Massimo Bartolini emphasizes a spatial outline with the help of two thousand feet long pearl necklaces. Rita Magalhães portrays her sister as a spectator at small urban gatherings.

Gert Robijns employs intricate technological means to stimulate a sense of space. Each work explores spatial forms and the ways these forms can be perceived.

Related Links:

Indepth Arts Resources for Netherlands

Other Important Exhibitions in Netherlands