The first edition of AbsurdBeings in 2017 was an independent exhibition initiated by twelve students and alumni of the Gerrit Rietveld Academie, the organizational and curatorial core of which later became the AbsurdBeings Collective. The aim of this first exhibition was to take a step outside and beyond the academy walls by selecting works relating to the overarching theme of the human body as an absurd entity and presenting those in a forgotten jewel of Amsterdam, the former Fijnhout Theater. Working with a space which shows its own history and scars so visibly, all while still feeling the academy’s umbilical cord tugging at the navel, the challenge was to curate a cohesive exhibition.
„How to navigate through unknown territories? How do you change a face? How to contemplate human hair? How to represent a face, boobs, a uterus and a vagina? How to play with negative space? How to activate smell? How strongly is the female pelvis in charge? How to gain distance from your own skin? How does presence manifest itself within absence? How do we deal with our surroundings? How does a pattern relate to a body? How to undress till the essential?“
- poster text, AbsurdBeings 2017
This open approach to an underlying theme found in each of the exhibited works resulted in a collision of materials, media and approaches which began to speak to each other and the visitors. This circumstance was only underlined by the properties of the exhibition location itself: an unestablished, equivocal and fleeting space which demanded flexibility and openness from artist and audience alike.
It was here where the human body lent itself as a bridge between the separate works and was the vessel to move about in. Operating from this vessel, the artist’s aim was to provide the viewer with questions rather than unambiguous answers or propositions.
Alexander van Bakel, Anne Lakeman, Eszter Kiss, Georgina David, Irina Djojoatmodjo, Jamillah Sungkar, Krisztina Czika, Laura Canha, Margherita Pauline Soldati, Meret Zimmermann, Mirre Yayla Séur, Nicolas Chuard
live waxing session by Krisztina Czika
Cosmic delusion is snaring through ignorance and knowledge when you think about hair. Sweep away any thoughts or impressions you may have about hair and allow Krisztina Czika to even strip it away and turn it into a takeaway.
live tattoo session with Nicolas Chuard
Come and check the ABSURD tattoo flash, brand your flesh? There will be blood, the sublim feeling of blacking your skin, be the living gallery of Nicolas Chuard!
Joaquin Crestinu
IKAN HYU
Toto Boroto & the Wild Flowers
Luxor Quest