From the Sea to the Clouds to the Soil

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1 October - 18 December 2022
Location: Stroom, Hogewal 1-9, The Hague
Open: Wednesday - Sunday, 12:00-17:00
Opening: Saturday 1 October, 17:00 - 20:00

From the Sea to the Clouds to the Soil presents unexpected perspectives to make us (more) aware of the symbiotic relationship between humans and nature. The group exhibition at Stroom focuses on 'kinship', the ultimate feeling of connection between all forms of life. It brings together contemporary artists who investigate this close relationship with the natural environment. The (re)discovery of this ecological connection is becoming increasingly urgent; take, for example, the existential pressure caused by climate change. Can we as humans really still see ourselves as separate from nature, which is becoming increasingly out of balance?

Risk Hazekamp (in collaboration with Scape Agency, Netherlands), Femke Herregraven (Netherlands), Urok Shirhan (Iraq/Netherlands), Yeon Sung (South-Korea) and Natasha Tontey (Indonesia) make tangible and experienceable connections and relationships that often are hidden from our view. Can we, for example, learn to listen ( in a better way) to other voices or elements, such as air, wind and water? Can we imagine a world in which we live on an equal footing with the cyanobacterium; an organism that provides the atmosphere with oxygen but in the exhibition itself lives off the breath of the visitors? Precisely by imagining a shared future, the artists seek another window to confront the urgency of climate change. They invite visitors to not only look and listen, but to actually open up to other living forms and feel the connection with them.

With these works Stroom presents speculative scenarios that encourage us to think differently about the role that plants, soil, air particles and water can play in the ecosystem of the urban environment. To literally look at the world around us from a different perspective: from the sea, the clouds, the soil.

Extra activities
In a side program during the exhibition current questions about climate, symbiosis and kinship will be further investigated in the context of The Hague.
On Saturday 8 October, during Museumnacht Den Haag, we will present a special film program with videos by students and recent graduates of the KABK that examine the symbiotic connection in nature and the role that technology plays in this.

Special thanks to
From the Sea to the Clouds to the Soil is made possible by Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie and the Gemeente Den Haag.
Natasha Tontey's work is co-commissioned by Auto Italia in London, in partnership with La Becque, Tour-de-Peilz, and Shedhalle, Zurich.The work of Risk Hazekamp + Scape Agency is made possible with funding by Stichting Stokroos, Stimuleringsfonds Creative Industrie and the support of Sabrina Botton.
>> Natasha Tontey, Garden Amidst the Flame, at Auto Italia, London (15 September-4 December 2022)
Metropolis M, 14 December 2022
Thinking about ancestral history - talking to Natasha Tontey