Navid Nuur: When Doubt Turns into Destiny

The Oude Kerk presents a large-scale, context-specific exhibition by Navid Nuur that invites you to experience the church sensorially. Nuur peels back the history of Amsterdam’s oldest building, emphasising the here-and-now through experiences about seeing, smelling, hearing, earth, air, and light. Notably, an important part of the exhibition will only conclude one hundred years from now.

Alchemy and art
Navid Nuur is an artist who seeks meaning through an approach that oscillates between art and alchemy. He uses natural transformation processes of materials, influenced by light, darkness, or cold, to visualise immaterial phenomena—such as the flow of energy or the perception of time. In the Oude Kerk, Nuur’s works explore light, time, and space, visible and invisible phenomena, and physical and chemical principles. New and existing works converge in a moving interplay, encouraging us to take a sharper perspective on the world. A ray of sunlight occasionally reveals a streak in the heavens, an instrument periodically exhales a breath of air, and a field of pebbles crunches.

100 city vases (2125)
During the exhibition, Nuur creates a series of one hundred vases in and around the Oude Kerk. In a workshop, drying room, and grinding room, he mixes clay with raw materials and minerals from Amsterdam, making traces of the city visible in the vases. At the end of the exhibition, the vases will be stored in the Iron Chapel, which served as Amsterdam’s city vault for centuries. A vase will be auctioned each year, bringing When Doubt Turns into Destiny to completion a hundred years from now, in 2125, when all the vases will have left the church.

Playful alchemist
Navid Nuur (Tehran, 1976) lives and works in The Hague. Often described as ‘a playful alchemist,’ he takes an investigative approach that is always rooted in a sense of wonder. His work has been exhibited at prominent venues such as the Centre Pompidou, Paris (2016); Kunstmuseum Den Haag (2021); Bonnefanten Museum, Maastricht (2013); La Biennale di Venezia (2011); among others. His works are part of major collections, including Kunsthaus Zürich; Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam; SMAK, Gent. Nuur received many awards for his work, including the Royal Prize for Free Painting (2011) and the Discoveries Prize at Art Basel in Hong Kong (2013).

Public programme
The exhibition’s events programme includes an artist talk, concerts, guided tours, performances, and other activities. More information can be found here. At the weekends, you’ll find guides in the church that are happy to talk about the exhibition.

Support
When Doubt Turns into Destiny is generously supported by Ammodo, Fonds 21, Stroom Den Haag, and the Mondriaan Fund Artist’s Honorarium grant. With special thanks to Wilfred Groen and Kesbeke. Courtesy: Navid Nuur; Galerie Max Hetzler, Berlin; Galeria Plan B, Cluj; Jahn und Jahn, Munich; Galerie Martin van Zomeren, Amsterdam.