Collection Satellite #2

“Mom, what is nature really?”—how should one best answer this seemingly harmless question? Where should one start? With prehistoric times? Or the present? With science or philosophy or even with its dichotomy of cultures?

Making use of selected works from the collection of the Kunstmuseen Krefeld, the Dutch artist duo Bik Van der Pol establishes connections between art, the environment and human history. In dialogue with their own works, Bik Van der Pol addresses the significance of nature for the continued existence of life on Earth. Their video One to One serves as the starting point for a journey that reflects on the disappearance of nature. One to One involves two case studies in which landscapes destroyed in conjunction with colonization were restored with the help of artistic source material. The artist duo found the eponymous question in a newspaper account on the 1971 COVER exhibition by the group of architects Haus-Rucker-Co. In the course of that legendary show, Haus Lange was transformed into an artificial climate zone, already calling attention to the growing pollution problem and its consequences for humankind.

A sound piece realized for the Collection Satellite that accompanies the visitor through the exhibition provides food for thought. Together with a typeface comprising symbols designed by the typographer Thomas Artur Spallek, Bik Van der Pol have added a subtext on the walls of the exhibition that must be deciphered, opening up an additional layer of meaning. Liesbeth Bik and Jos van der Pol have worked together under the name Bik Van der Pol since 1995. They live and work in Rotterdam. Studio 2 and the accompanying programme have been organized in cooperation with the Krefeld Umweltzentrum.

The Collection Satellites are Kunstmuseen Krefeld’s new project series. Artists of different fields (artists, designers, choreographers, writers, etc.) are invited to enter into a dialogue with individual pieces or aspects of the collection and to create new works in response. The collection, which functions as the museum’s core identity, serves as a starting point and catalyst for new works by contemporary artists. The Collection Satellites series will be accompanied by a publication series.

Curator
Constanze Zawadzky

The Sparda-Bank West Foundation is partner of the Collection Satellites