Unseen/Unsaw
Site-specific Intervention
developed at Destination Unknown Art Residency
Heerlen
The Netherlands
2024
developed at Destination Unknown Art Residency
Heerlen
The Netherlands
2024
An exploration of neglect and societal structures revolves around the story of a forgotten bench. Outdoors, a wooden bench became inaccessible as surrounding bushes overgrew and blocked the pathways leading to the courtyard where it stands. The intervention unfolds through two sides—Side A and Side B—that examine the influence of hierarchal societal and corporate systems on both human and non-human elements.
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(Side B) ‘UnseenUnsaw’
Interactive Installation
A 10-meter-long wipwap/seesaw cuts through the overgrown bushes, connecting two otherwise isolated courtyards. Unlike conventional seesaws that allow visual connection between players, the wipwap is positioned so that participants cannot see each other, embodying the sense of ‘isolation’ associated with the inaccessible bench. Players must trust their unseen partner, engaging in a physical negotiation of body weight and balance as they rise and fall.
(Side A) ‘De Vergeten Bank’
Film (13:50 min.)
In a critical yet absurd way, the forgotten outdoor bench is brought into a ‘typical’ office space. The unexpected relocation questions the functional significance of both existing indoor and outdoor environments, connecting their context to broader themes of(be)longing, attachment and solitude.
In the Middle Ages, a seesaw was used to punish petty thieves. The convicted person was shaved bald and had to walk up a seesaw set up on the edge of a pond or river. The seesaw would tip over and the punished person would end up in the water. Under the scorn and ridicule of the bystanders, he would then have to try to get back on dry land.
