Artspace KUUB: Annemieke Alberts and Willem Harbers

January 14 till February 18 2018

The infallible system

In our society, all kinds of processes are ongoing. For example, think about functioning in an organization, but also in manufacturing products. To facilitate these processes, people create systems. Such a system is designed to prevent failure, to continue to control the process and the result, and to enforce success. Despite this check, many fail. In life, in organizations, in making and thinking processes, in countries. Many of these systems have a hierarchical structure. After all, they have been conceived by someone who has determined what is important or unimportant, what are the primary and secondary issues. What does not fit in the picture is labeled as an error.

Rhizome Thinking

Gilles Deleuze, philosopher, alternatively comes up with the “Rhizome-thinking”. A rhizome is a concept from biology and literally means: an underground root system whose main feature is that it has multiple entrances. There is no main entrance, and once you’re in, you’re connected. It is an image of endless and unconscious branches that grow horizontally. Deleuze argues in his theory for open systems, which are permanently in motion. He says: “We have grass in our head, without linear logic. It’s about using many sources and data and structuring it in your own way. All heterogeneous elements can come together at different points. ”

The word failure does not occur in this form of thinking. This thought is fundamental in the work of Harbers and Alberts. In what the outcome looks like, you can see traces of the creative process. What they have encountered, both material and experiences, shapes and images, is constantly reordered and shifted until a new reality arises. Nothing is permanent in this system. There is a continuous change. In the appearance there is room for a light, ironic view on reality. Absurdistic elements are an almost self-evident part of a wonderful world that might also be true.

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Opening on Sunday January 14th at 5 pm by Alex de Vries; curator, publisher, reviewer and writer about contemporary art.