Might as Well at Nest, is a group show with works by seven artists about power.
The exhibition is carefully composed and some well presented and intriguing works by major artists are on show, but in spite of that there isn’t much coherence on offer.
Indeed Might as Well does show different aspects of power, but the works don’t really communicate with each other.
They just might have been other works.
For instance, where is the connection between a rape scene by Ronald Ophuis and a map of the Teniersplantsoen in The Hague by Jan Rothuizen, both brotherly on show almost next to each other?
A better couple are Fernando Sánchez Castillo’s video of a mating dance of two water cannons and Köken Ergun’s video Tank Love, although the latter’s bluntness of the quasi-artistic amateurish camerawork gives more brilliance to Sánchez’ aesthetic work.
Though aesthetics isn’t all.
An in itself very beautiful video by Zachary Formwalt of Berlage’s Stock Exchange in Amsterdam may reveal something about the power of walls to create a special world within the world, but doesn’t that apply to many big buildings?
Generally speaking, are there any aspects of power on show you didn’t know about?
L.A. Raeven’s new work based on the Milgram Experiment isn’t really that revealing and neither is Julika Rudelius’ double video Rites of Passage.
Still, these works are interesting because of the body language (and face language) and the dehumanisation of human character in both works, and the blurring of real life and staged life is intriguing.
If the show would have consisted of these two works, either with or without works of a third artist (for instance Ophuis) it might have been a stronger and more thought provoking presentation. Now Raeven’s and Rudelius’ are just two works amongst a few others.
Please go and take a look for yourself and have another idea.
[Click on the pictures to enlarge]
Bertus Pieters