Een gelaat van zand aan de grens van de zee.

Michel Foucault as inspiration

Michel Foucault bet in the 1960s that humanity is little more than a face of sand at the edge of the sea. The advantage of all future predictions is that they generally never come true. But Foucault's bet seems to be becoming a reality for those who look around the world. If we recognize that we have come this far, perhaps we can think about another way of dealing with the world we live in. After all, it has not turned out to be that effective to try to master everything in rules, laws, agreements, spreadsheets, protocols and step-by-step plans. In fact, perhaps that approach has led to the fact that the water now seems to be on our lips. What if we exchange that mechanical paradigm for a nomadic perspective: not asking ourselves whether we are achieving the set goals, but thinking together about what the intention was.

A nomadic perspective

Wanting to control seems to be a constant in the way we interact with the world. Words have proven to be very effective for this. Words to indicate, point out and share things with others. But meanwhile those words seem to be detached from reality and lead a life of their own. Words can cover any load. Words can create their own reality apart from things. The word now has many masters. A nomadic perspective is not aimed at controlling the world we live in. Exploitation and cultivation are after all driven by a one-sided interest. Moreover, exploitation and manipulation are in principle finite, the illusion of the infinity of possibilities. On the other hand, there is another concept that is based on moving along, survival, enduring and living together. On balance and unity. Life on the planet was based on this concept for centuries. And this life will always create a new balance itself. The world does not need man. Man needs the world to survive.

The presentation

Central to the presentation are three works in the form of video and artbooks: A wall of bookcases with the title: Roads. In each box an artbook with ten illustrated poems about artists, philosophers and writers who find the road more important than the destination. A video shows how faces of sand literally disappear in the rising tide. A second collection of artbooks gives form and content to Foucault's bet in ten illustrated poems. In addition, associations with the theme are shown in a multitude of techniques. A series of polymer etchings entitled 'Male Line' shows the passing of time. 'Boxes for the road' are shaping memories of the most everyday, in preparation for the moment when you have to leave home and hearth. 'Nothing is certain' is a collection of colored houses. The house as an image for the place where you are rooted. Short videos of things that go by are shown in the houses. Finally, there is a small collection of artbooks that propose new words and images to give shape and content to the nomadic perspective.