Part of the show Something thrown
in the way of the observer
Museum Van Loon, Amsterdam
curated by Bernke Klein Zandvoort

Museum Van Loon in the Amsterdam canal belt was the residence of wealthy and influential merchant family. It’s still furnished as it would have been in the 17th and 18th century. Bernke Klein Zandvoort was invited to develop a group exhibition as part of Van Loon’s contemporary art program. Something in the way of the observer is reflecting on objects and more specifically, on how their handling moves the user.

I covered the four-poster bed in the master bedroom with textiles, but left one hole for the visitors to peep through.
Inside the bed one could see particles of dust, softly floating in the warmth of a lamp. This cosmic movement of particles bridges the centuries, some of these fibers might stem from their inhabitants in the golden age, while others are brought in by contemporary visitors. The title is an ironic reference to the reality TV show MTV Cribs in which celebrities show off their luxury homes.

“When a room remains closed for a long time, even layers of dust settle on the surfaces. It is a world that exists undisturbed by us: the upholstery of a chair loses fibres, and so do the bed curtains and the carpet, but even wood is subject to microscopic flaking. Where the Magic happens shows such pieces of disintegrated matter, which have little chance of settling due to the presence of museum visitors. They float around in space, mixed with particles from the outside world that the visitors have brought in. Through a peephole we encounter things in their most reduced form. On theatrical pedestal, Uta Eisenreich presents the quotidian as a silent spectacle.”

Bernke Klein Zandvoort, Exhibition curator.