Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
We have been working together for about ten years now.
And unofficially, it has been even longer than that.
So working together comes very natural to us.
We don't question it,
we are in constant debate,
resulting into something from the both of us.
These roles are still shifting constantly.
They weren't set in stone ten years ago,
but rather they are subject to change.
Each new project allows for new discoveries and challenges within our cooperation
So it keeps evolving.
I think the most important aspect of whatever kind of relationship
is trust.
Trust can be handed out
and the more we work together,
the more we are able to establish a balance within the relationship.
We both have an ego, an own personality,
and you need to respect each other's time,
as we all move at our own pace to develop things.
This is something that, during the course of this exhibition,
we have definitely learned a lot about.
It has certainly been a fascinating experience as to working together with other people.
We have done this before;
Something we deliberately look for is to team up
with an artist from a different cultural field, whom we find interesting and like,
and who can contribute to our project.
Maybe it's due to the fact that, because we are able to work so well together,
It's easy for us to work with a third party as well.
Charles and I, however, we will always be on the same side,
as opposed to the 'other'.
In this work, that concept has been taken to the extreme,
because we made a short film, with a fifteen-piece technical crew,
about ten to twelve actors and dancers,
and many others who have helped out with the preparations,
as well as with the post-production.
Accordingly, this collaboration has worked on many different levels.
'Plot Hole' is part of the 'Props for Drama' series,
launched in 2009.
The first production in the series was called 'Foreshadowing'.
Next was 'Plot Twist',
the title of which we knew, it would respond to a new turning point,
which is why it's important that this work be incorporated
into the film called 'The Suspension of Disbelief'.
With 'Plot Hole', we also introduced a new element:
the actor.
For 'The Suspension of Disbelief',
we knew we wanted to work with people, dancers,
and we wished to somehow reveal this notion.
'Foreshadowing' is a revelation of sculptures,
while 'Plot Twist' is a distortion of those sculptures.
Whereas before, we worked with an actor as well, though one behind the scenes;
a voice;
a recording of vocal descriptions, as part of the installation.
now, we chose to work with a physical actor,
and develop the piece further accordingly.
'The Suspension of Disbelief' has developed into a short film,
which features a lot of elements,
taken and assembled from past 'Props for Drama' productions.
For example, we made the dancers dance with the objects,
we implemented the entire installation of 'Plot Twist',
which, in turn, is used as a literal metaphor for a plot twist.
We used the element of being in front and behind the scenes:
the film shows a constant correlation between fiction and reality.
albeit a 'staged' reality.
We have added music and lyrics,
which - again - refers to what is actually being made: a musical.
Thanks to 'The Suspension of Disbelief',
we were able to create a very interesting platform through the power of cinema.
To us, the film departs from our past productions,
of a time when we approached our work from a more naive point of view.
The film literally starts with a naive child,
placed in a setting where fantasy, innocence and naivete
play a critical, yet protective role.
It shows a city garden, surrounded by four walls,
thoroughly guarded from intruders,
A place where our fantasies can be given full vent, because there is no room for harm.
One might say that the film literally starts from within the child's imagination.
The child is placed inside a tent,
and we are able to hear her fantasies, through audio recordings.
But then, she is suddenly snatched away from this fantasy world,
and likewise, we, as spectators,
are displaced from the reality of the child inside the tent,
as we are confronted with the fact that the garden is actually a film set.
This way, we play with the element of staging reality,
as well as puncturing fictitious situations altogether.
There are objects in the exhibition waiting to be positioned,
some objects haven't been placed at all.
Tape markings on the floor help to imagine these objects,
and so one can assign them at own accord.
The exhibition displays different kinds of objects, and installations of sculptures,
that play with this notion.
The backside is on display; the backstage,
which demonstrates that change is still very much a possibility.
Or, it shows how everything is assembled; how the imagery has been achieved.
It demonstrates its construction.
This is also a constant feature in "The Suspension of Disbelief', the film.
We continually show the making-of:
how we made the film while actually filming.
This is a recurring element in our past work.
Our motivation, the reason behind our fascination stems from the fact that,
it forms part of the present, image-based culture.
Nowadays, one can easily look up how something is made,
We like to display this juxtaposition, and the interesting tension resulting from it.