Konrad Smoleński
One Mind In A Million Of Heads
18 October–16 November 2014
Opening: Saturday 18 October, 7pm
With concerts: Wolf Eyes, Cut Hand & Brutaż
Volkspaleis (People’s Palace)
Presented by West Den Haag
Zuiderstrandtheater
2583 ER Scheveningen
The Netherlands
Hours: Wednesday–Thursday 6pm–midnight,
Friday–Sunday noon–6pm and 8–12pm
T +31 70 3925359
info [at] westdenhaag.nl
This year West is presenting the Volkspaleis (People’s Palace) in the Zuiderstrandtheater in Scheveningen, Den Haag. In both scale and its unique location, this brand new theatre by the sea highlights the human experience in relation to its surroundings. This is seen again in the new monumental installation One Mind In A Million Heads from Konrad Smoleński made in collaboration with choreographer Noa Shadur. Visual artist Smoleński achieved international recognition through his work at the Polish pavilion of the Venice Biennale of 2013.
For his new work presented in The Hague, his largest audio architectural work to date, he once again addresses sound as sculpture: considering how sound gives form to a space and how variations in sound can influence and steer the public. Noise and sound are clearly present in the work. The installation is open throughout the events, at times receiving additional impulses from the performances of international sound artists. Curator Michal Libera has invited a selection of artists for the event, including Cut Hands, Brutaż, Wolf Eyes, Kyle Devine, Eli Keszler, Nic Collins, BMB con, Anne Wellmer, Matteo Marangoni, Diktat, Anton Lukoszevieze, Spat’Sonore, Aleks Kolkowski, Tres and Tony di Napoli. In all facets the program aims to show the extreme range of an audio speaker. In a period of five weekends, noise, electronically amplified to an overwhelming volume, will change via an acoustic, soft volume to almost complete silence.
Adding to the program, extra performances will take place in collaboration with various cultural partners. This program is composed of various disciplines and aims to avoid the classical format and approach, instead emphasizing a crossover of disciplines. Each of the evening and matinee performance include elements such as dance, film and music presentations, literature, discussions and debates on various subjects including sound art, literature, science and (art) philosophy. The cultural partners include Vrijhaven, Studio Loos, Royal Conservatorium, Rewire, Marcel van Eeden, Kees’t Hart and many others.
Concepts of sound and entropy (the power of chaos) stand central in this year’s Volkspaleis. These intangible and invisible ideas are presented in events where performance and music are the primary focus. By doing so, we want the Zuiderstrand Theater to reflect on the future of art. The Volkspaleis is located behind the dunes where the sound of the wind forms a natural backdrop. We invite you to come and listen.
Konrad Smoleński (b. 1977) lives and works in Warsaw, and Bern, Switzerland and works as a visual artist with performance; photography, installations, videos and performances with sound and sculpture. Often in collaboration with other artists and musicians. In 2013 he represented Poland at the Venice Biennale with the monumental installation Everything Was Forever, Until It Was No More, a sculptural instrument that reproduces, at regular intervals, a music piece written for bronze bells, wide range loudspeakers, and other resonating objects. By using a delay effect, he offers an insight into a world where history has come to a standstill, thereby approaching the radical propositions of contemporary physics with its perception of the passage of time as an illusion. Smoleński has shown internationally including recently at the Polish Pavilion, 55th Biennale di Venezia, Italy; Zachęta – National Gallery of Art, Warschau; Manifesta 9, Genk; Palais de Tokyo, Paris; Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw; Museum MARTa Herford; Leto Gallery, Warsaw; The Institute of Contemporary Arts, London; CentrePasquArt, Biel, Zwitserland; and Performa 13, New York.
Two new publications with texts by Michal Libera and Roos van der Lint will accompany the manifestation.
For more information, please contact MJ Sondeijker at T +31 70 3925359 / info [at] westdenhaag.nl / www.westdenhaag.nl