Object Research Lab - Relational Thingness
workperiod at Pompgemaal in Den Helder, Netherlands:
15th July to 15th of October 2010
The Object Research Lab aims to chart contemporary thought and approaches about objects, finding contact points and moments of exchange that could translate in a visual research that in itself could be applied to artistic practice and design.
During the first working phase of the Object Research Lab, encounters took place in a studio high over the rooftops of Amsterdam, in a constructed setting of human and non-human actors. Here artists, archeologists, art objects, pre objects, amateur objects, design objects, philosophers, sociologists and designers have been busy formulating the necessary questions concerning (the future of) things. They brought their respective skills and vulnerabilities to the Research Lab in order to find new ways of thinking in collaboration with things. During and after each encounter in this series, the team at the Object Research Lab team began translating the resulting ideas into three-dimensional and textual forms - building various structures, bodies and approaches to ideas of materially-engaged artistic practice.
Invited guests and contributors were: Emilie Gomart, Dieter Roelstraete, Clare Butcher, Klaas Kuitenbrouwer, Willem van Weelden, Sher Doruff, Hermann Pitz, Ronald van Tienhoven, Robert Steijn, Frans Poelstra, Christel Vesters, Ren� Welker, Maartje Hoogsteyns, Tine Melzer, Kasper Andreasen, Sophie Krier, Fiona Candlin, Noortje Marres, Lucy Kimbell, Jurgen Bey, Michael Portnoy, Ann Meskens, Nikolaus Gangsterer, Zoe Laughlin and Alexander Kraemer.
This project has been kindly supported by Fonds BKVB (The Netherlands Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture) and by M4gastatelier Foundation.