The Conversations:

The recent social quarantine and national lock-downs of many companies and institutions has forced us into our homes. We were confronted with new conditions and had to re-think our futures. The aim of this project was to confront this situation and the aftermath with bravery and hope. The Conversations were not conducted online (like most of us did during quarantine) but face-to- face with people from various sectors of cultural economy. The setting was in an open air surrounded by nature in a contemplative atmosphere as well as large industrial space. The Conversations are a mental antidote to the current crisis.

We conducted and filmed 12 interviews with a selected list of people. The pair of chairs was installed in a garden and an industrial space for the duration of the interviews. The guests were sited in a monumental marble chair created by the artist for the occasion. The distance between the moderator and the guest was 1.5 meters and the whole operation and production followed the RIVM Richtlijnen.

The themes of the conversations range from current COVID-19 pandemic affecting creative industries, through the role of art and design in the times of environmental awareness all the way to personal testimonies on the struggles and hopes of the Dutch cultural sector. The Covid-19 pandemic is having an impact on a global scale in such an extent that it can be considered on par with major market crashes of the 20th Century or even armed conflicts. The implications are tremendous and some changes inevitable. What is the new decade(s) going to look like? Are we going back to normal? What are the concerns and hopes? Can art help us on the way out? What is the future of art in further more digitalized and fast-consuming appetites?

The idea was to have a relatively short final cut (25-30 minutes), relaxed and feel good dialogue (or monologue) that was not only related to the expertise of the guest but touched on the subjects of our time and questions arising from the current change in paradigms. The guests were invited to conduct the interviews in English in order to promote these dialogues on the international scale.

In collaboration with Rademakers Gallery and Lakeside Collection, the project has become part of Unlocked/Reconnected. This is a collective show that brings together a wide range of “house for art” throughout the Netherlands to mark their re-opening after the Covid-19 lock-down.

The Next Acropolis:

After the completion of Bust Chair Conversations, the goal is to create a site specific sculptural project as a memorial. This is a proposal for a permanent installation entitled “Next Acropolis” of 12 stone chairs arranged in a circle spaced by 1.5 meters as a symbol of the social distancing rule. Each chair would be a made from a different kind of a stone (various marbles, granite, etc.) and sourced out from various quarries from around the world. This public art installation would be placed in a city park, nature or landscape.