Ondertussen: Arianne Olthaar
14 February thru 29 March 2009
Location: Hogewal 1-9
The former reception area of Stroom has been converted into a small
exhibition space. On a regular basis there are presentations of artists
who have received a subsidy in the categories Stroom PRO- and
SPOT-grants. The informal exhibitions and presentations are intended to
illustrate the diversity of the Stroom grant system. The program in the
space is called Ondertussen (Meanwhile).
Arianne Olthaar is fascinated by the transience of the
ideals and design of the ‘60s and ‘70s. Her main focus is on public
interiors which were designed with a special purpose in mind. Interiors
which had a specific modernity at the time they were created, but which
in this present day and age seem rather dated and will soon be
demolished or renovated .
For a number of years now
Arianne Olthaar has focused her attention on the indoor living quarters
of apes, which at the time were designed in the innovative style of
‘bathroom achitecture'. Huge walls of glass cover
relatively small, tiled living quarters. The spaces are sterile,
well-organized and include a minumum of extras: an elevated area to sit
on, stainless steel frames for climbing. The animals do not have much
privacy; it is almost impossible to hide from the stares of the visiting public.
In
preparation for the project Arianne Olthaar visited various European
zoos to capture their indoor animal living quarters on photo,
video and film. This was the basis for a series of models and a short
film. In the Ondertussen space Olthaar presents three of the models and the
short film, plus a number of photographs which were used as research
material.
Free poster
Arianne Olthaar offers each visitor a free poster of the demolition of the chimpanzee living quarters in Berlin Zoo
(October 2007).
The
models Frankfurt am Main 2, Antwerp and Berlin 2 have been exhibited at
Camouflash in Dresden (Unoactu) and the Mediations Biennial
in Poznan, 2008, with the financial support of a Stroom SPOT
exhibition-subsidy.
The film 'Binnenverblijven' was made possible by The Netherlands Film Fund.
Archive Ondertussen presentations
- 14 Feb '09 - 29 Mar '09
- Hogewal 1-9, The Hague
- Entrance: free