Bik Van der Pol (NL)
Urban Space
Bik Van der Pol
Jos Van der Pol, born in Arnhem, the Netherlands. Lives in Rotterdam.
Liesbeth Bik, born in Haarlem, the Netherlands. Lives in Rotterdam.
Jos Van der Pol and Liesbeth Bik have worked together since 1994. Under the
name of Bik Van der Pol they create projects in the intersection between art, design, science, architecture and presentation. They have developed a mini-hotel consisting of a bed with matching archives of significant books. They have created an art project focussed on why and how a rock from the moon can end up in a Dutch art collection. Because, really, who owns the moon? They have built a cinema and a kitchen and created a mobile unit to be used by artists in residency.
Bik Van der Pol's projects seem at once straightforward and cryptic. They are often characterised by open suggestions or poetic concepts to be further elaborated by others - by the audience, by other artists or by an art institution.
Bik Van der Pol's contribution to U-TURN, What Colour Would a Chameleon Take When Placed on a Mirror? (2008) , infiltrates the marketing of the quadrennial as well as its presentation of art to the public. Several official posters and other presentational materials are produced in inverted versions. A small pick-up truck carrying a large mirror-framed box will drive around town and serve as a sculptural communication unit. The mirror box and the use of mirrors in other contexts make it possible to actually read the inverted statements. This way, the audience is involved in the presentation in a new and more active manner. At the same time, it is also an important point that the mirroring includes all the things that surround art - the situation, the space, the exhibition site and urban areas.
Bik Van der Pol intentionally seeks to disrupt the perspective and to point out a new focus and a new dimension in the way the audience is addressed. Why do we look at something? How do you create attention? And what does U-TURN really represent? Bik Van der Pol creates resistance, attention and reflection by one and the same (u-)turn which will definitely lead U-TURN and audience alike in new directions. -CSJ
Liesbeth Bik, born in Haarlem, the Netherlands. Lives in Rotterdam.
Jos Van der Pol and Liesbeth Bik have worked together since 1994. Under the
name of Bik Van der Pol they create projects in the intersection between art, design, science, architecture and presentation. They have developed a mini-hotel consisting of a bed with matching archives of significant books. They have created an art project focussed on why and how a rock from the moon can end up in a Dutch art collection. Because, really, who owns the moon? They have built a cinema and a kitchen and created a mobile unit to be used by artists in residency.
Bik Van der Pol's projects seem at once straightforward and cryptic. They are often characterised by open suggestions or poetic concepts to be further elaborated by others - by the audience, by other artists or by an art institution.
Bik Van der Pol's contribution to U-TURN, What Colour Would a Chameleon Take When Placed on a Mirror? (2008) , infiltrates the marketing of the quadrennial as well as its presentation of art to the public. Several official posters and other presentational materials are produced in inverted versions. A small pick-up truck carrying a large mirror-framed box will drive around town and serve as a sculptural communication unit. The mirror box and the use of mirrors in other contexts make it possible to actually read the inverted statements. This way, the audience is involved in the presentation in a new and more active manner. At the same time, it is also an important point that the mirroring includes all the things that surround art - the situation, the space, the exhibition site and urban areas.
Bik Van der Pol intentionally seeks to disrupt the perspective and to point out a new focus and a new dimension in the way the audience is addressed. Why do we look at something? How do you create attention? And what does U-TURN really represent? Bik Van der Pol creates resistance, attention and reflection by one and the same (u-)turn which will definitely lead U-TURN and audience alike in new directions. -CSJ