A new world

This presentation is the result of the open call "which exhibition or work of art you would like to revisit and see again - in this new world. And why?" With reactions by Annechien Meier, Janice McNab, Richard Sluijs and Jorrit Paaijmans and works by Marjolein van Haasteren, Lawrence Malstaf, Janice McNab and Richard Sluijs.

In recent months in which Covid-19 shut down the world, Stroom Den Haag has maintained contact with her relations in a different way, and intensified through a weekly newsletter. In the editionof 13 May 2020 our director Arno van Roosmalen used his weekly column to ask the readers the following question (in short):

"What are we going to see when we take our first steps in the familiar surroundings of the museums and presentation spaces we know so well? I think it would be very interesting to revisit the same exhibitions, the ones we were able to experience not so long ago. Because, now that we are steeped in the dark history of the last few months, they will have a special relevance and emotional impact. How would we understand a work of art we saw recently, or a collection piece? What can it teach us about our present time? About ourselves?" (...) The fact that, because of the radically changed context, we understand and interpret art differently, as new, is proof that we now live in a different world. I am very eager to know which exhibition or work of art you would like to revisit and see again - in this new world. And why? Let me know. I can imagine that it could be a wonderful start of a presentation in our exhibition space."
>> read the full column here

This call resulted in a number of wonderful responses. The works to which they refer are now on display in our exhibition space.

Annechien Meier:
The Storm by Marjolein van Haasteren

"I would like to see this painting 'The Storm' by Marjolein van Haasteren at Stroom. It's a beautiful, terrifying image, and looks like a tornado in a menacing yet peaceful environment. I think it is a topical painting in the uncertain times in which we now find ourselves worldwide. The painting has won Pulchri Studio's annual Jacob Hartog Prize in March 2020."

>> scroll down to read more about this work.

Janice McNab:
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity - The Isolation Paintings by Janice McNab
"Over the last couple of weeks I have been posting a few images on Instagram, from a documentary painting project I did 20 years ago. In the Chemical Sensitivity Project I was looking at the lifestyles of people who had become overly sensitized to contemporary chemicals in the environment, and had to live ‘locked down,' secluded lives that kept them safely apart from the scents and fumes of contemporary life. I would like to find some way to re-show this work, as its close relationship to what we are all now dealing with may offer some sort of visual vocabulary that helps us to process our now."
>> scroll down to read more and download an essay about this work.

Jorrit Paaijmans:
SHRINK 01995 by Lawrence Malstaf
"I was reminded of Lawrence Malstaf: In 2010 (I saw this work performed at the STRP festival in Eindhoven) the image called up associations about the preservation of the body, something the cryonists envision (only the bodies of cryonists are, of course, preserved after their death). But seen from the present time, I see it as an extremely absurd implemented way of protecting you from the toxic outside world. This work made a big impression on me in 2010 and in light of my current research questions they have once again become a current reference for me."
>> scroll down to read more about this work.

RichLab Art+Design Projects
Complete Lexicon of Crisis Related  Suicides - 2008-2013 / Volume 1 by Richard Sluijs

My Complete Lexicon of Crisis Related Suicides - 2008-2013 / Volume 1 emerged from the previous crisis, as a warning (and indictment) of the suicide that occurred worldwide. With the accompanying installation Wall of Shame in, among others, Nederlands Uitvaart Museum Tot Zover in Amsterdam, we managed to generate a lot of attention and funds for 113-online, the suicide helpline. We are now in a situation that can lead to the same suffering.

MORE ABOUT THE WORKS ON DISPLAY

Marjolein van Haasteren, The Storm
The Storm (120x135cm) is the first work of a larger series on water (Project Something in the Water).
A storm has three silences: Just before the storm, after the storm, and in the eye of the storm. A storm also means tension and threat. I wanted to capture climate change, with all its possible consequences, the changing political image of Europe and all the turmoil that goes with it. Shortly thereafter, Covid-19 made its appearance.
Jury report Jacob Hartog Prijs:
The judges refers to the work as a contemporary painting that works well from far and near. It exudes craftmanship through an energetic brush stroke and convincing use of color. It creates a digital suggestion through the alienating effects that can be seen in the water feature. Furthermore, the jury named terms such as "fascinating abstract power", "energetic", "contemporary" and the depicted storm refers to current and global themes.

Janice McNab, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity - The Isolation Paintings
The individual titles of the four paintings shown:
Bettina, London, oil on board, 1999
Anne's Kitchen, Dagenham, oil on board, 2000
Fabienne has not been outdoors since 1981, oil on board, 2000
Jacqueline's Room, Glasgow, oil on board, 2000

Lawrence Malstaf, SHRINK 01995
Two large, transparent plastic sheets and a device that gradually sucks the air out from between them leave the body (in this case the artist himself) vacuum-packed and vertically suspended. The transparent tube inserted between the two surfaces allows the person inside the installation to regulate the flow of air. As a result of the increasing pressure between the plastic sheets, the surface of the packed body gradually freezes into multiple micro-folds. For the duration of the performance the person inside moves slowly and changes positions, which vary from an almost embryonic position to one resembling a crucified body.
Note of the artist: "This is some old footage of the ‘Shrink' performance shortly after I designed it in 1995. Since the project received a lot of new interest in Corona-times, I want to share some extra information: Yes, the performer(s)can breath, there is actually a strong air current inside the plastic. I designed it in 1995 and have presented it in many musea and art festivals since, also during a fashion show by Iris Van Herpen and earlier in a project by Kirsten Delholm."
The work of Lawrence Malstaf (1972, Bruges, Belgium) is situated on the borderline between the visual and the theatrical. He develops installation and performance art with a strong focus on movement, coincidence, order and chaos, and immersive sensorial rooms for individual visitors. He also creates larger mobile environments dealing with space and orientation, often using the visitor as a co-actor. His projects involve physics and technology as a point of departure or inspiration and as a means for activating installations.
Lawrence Malstaf has received several international awards in the field of art and new technology. He is also well known as an innovative scenographer in the dance and theater world.
Courtesy of the artist & Tallieu Art Office.
http://lawrencemalstaf.com
https://www.artoffice.be