National Museum of Contemporary Art, Bucharest

20 May - 9 September 2006
curator: Annet Dekker

Artists: Michiel van Bakel, Jasper van der Brink, Persijn Broersen & Margit Lukacs, Rikkert Brok, eddie d, Jan Peter van der Wenden, Kirsten Geisler, Bernard Gigounon, Nan Hoover, Andreas Siefert, Bill Spinhoven, Eric Steensma, Martijn Veldhoen, Gerald van der Kaap


Optical illusions have fascinated man as far back as the Middle Ages, and continue to do so. For some time now film has been the magical medium par excellence, but since the rise of video film no longer has the sole claim to this magic. With virtual reality and the computer the possibilities seem unlimited. In the exhibition Dutch Installation Art a desire for the extraordinary, which is at the core of any fantastic machine, travels through as an undercurrent - and is often transferred to the viewer as an experience for the senses.

The artists in the exhibition reveal the magic in media art. By playing with space, light and shadow, extreme close-ups or computer techniques the "art magique" is brought to life. When you enter the darkened space of the video installation Dislocations by Martijn Veldhoen your eyes are immediately drawn towards a white cross on the floor, lit from above by a spotlight. And just as in the plaza in front of St. Peter's, this marks the spot where something happens, where the horizon shifts and opens up a different perspective. The single channel video Starship by Bernard Gigounon is a spectacle of scudding spaceships, or are they? The images in Starship form an impressive entity, in no way inferior to science fiction films like Star Wars. However, as you watch longer, it appears that the airships did not originate in the imagination of the artist. And laying down in the Chill Terminal, artist Gerald van der Kaap brings people in a state of "total hoverty" - 'No other drugs required. All senses operative.'

Co-organiser: Netherlands Media Art Institute Montevideo / Time Based Arts
With the support of: the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Bucharest, Mondriaan Foundation

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