As a first part of his contribution to Portscapes, JORGE SATORRE's billboard on the A15 presents a vision of his ongoing research. During Satorre's 3-month residence in Rotterdam, he was searching for, and located, a large boulder – one of the many giant rocks carried by glaciers into The Netherlands from Scandinavia during the last Ice Age. Following the artist’s fascination with the compensation projects being instigated in order to ‘offset’ the construcion of Maasvlakte 2, his project seeks to identify this rock’s place of origin and return it to where it came from in an act of restitution and fundamental sculpture process. The transposition mirrors the monumental construction of the Maasvlakte as a sculpting of land-form which, like the action of glaciers but in a far shorter time, fundamentally alters the morphology of The Netherlands. The action is also mirrored in the fact that much of the existing and future sea defense in the port area will be made from rock brought from Scandinavia. The second part of his research will be presented in February 2010.
...
Following the placement of a billboard by Amsterdam-based artist PAULIEN OLTHETEN along the A15 on the Maasvlakte, Oltheten is now presenting a series of photographs on smaller billboards (see locations here ) and two video pieces at the visitor centre Futureland and vicinity. During her explorations around the port, Oltheten made use of the lack of reference of natural elements, such as trees, bushes and people by arranging meetings. These stagings mostly took place in locations that will soon disappear or be displaced and often involve variations of the theme ‘one becomes two’, referring to the Maasvlakte, of which there will later be two. On view until 30 October 2009.
'Portscapes' is an accumulative series of art commissions taking place throughout 2009 alongside the construction of ‘Maasvlakte 2’, a 2,000 hectare area of reclaimed land that will extend the Port of Rotterdam, Europe's largest seaport and industrial area by 20%. Projects of variable scales will be produced under the leitmotif itineraries and destinations comprising tours, audioguides, performances, radio programmes, interventions, for example. + info...
Speakers at the International seminar on Art and Ecology, 21 October 2009, The Wanås Foundation, Knislinge, Sweden
The Wanås Foundation will host a one-day international seminar on the relationship between arts and ecology, and what is of most importance for successful environmental work: individual efforts or collective changes. The seminar is presented in conjunction with the exhibition Footprints on view at Wanås until 25 October, with works by Tue Greenfort, Henrik Hakansson, Tea Mäkipää (with Halldor Ulfarsson), Tomás Saraceno and Nilsmagnus Sköld.
The programme includes three presentations, by Folke Tersman (Professor of Practical Philosophy at Uppsala University); Joanna Yarrow (media commentator and expert in the field of ecologically sustainable lifestyles, founder of the telecommunications company Beyond Green in London, awarded an honorary doctorate at Staffordshire University) and Latitudes. Moderator and co-organiser: Jakob Lind, MD Futurniture, Stockholm
Latitudes is a Barcelona-based [41º23’ N, 2º 11’ E] independent curatorial office initiated in April 2005 by Max Andrews and Mariana Cánepa Luna. Latitudes collaborates with artists and institutions in the conception, organisation and production of exhibitions, public commissions, conferences, editorial and research initiatives across local, pan-European and international situations. Latitudes is on the editorial board of Archive Books (formerly The Bookmakers Ed.),Turin/Berlin and is a curatorial advisor for APT Intelligence. + info...