Participation

What role do you step into/ enter, as a member of the audience, when you walk into exhibition? What do you expect from the artworks, and what do you expect from yourself?

All the works in this exhibition invites the audience to participate and get involved. Some of the artworks call for self-examination and welcome the visitors to engage emotionally. Others require the viewer to complete the work in physical and practical terms. This allows us to take an active part when encountering art. We become co-creators of the artworks, and suddenly we, the public, are visible in the exhibition space in a completely different manner. As Felix Gonzalez-Torres says: Without a public these works are nothing, nothing.

But does not all art need a viewer? Even in front of a painting quietly hanging on the wall, we use ourselves when engaging with the work. Our references, experiences and knowledge influence how we experience art. Is it at all possible to face art in a passive manner?

Today, being active participating senders or operators is a natural part of everyday life. We share, comment, gather information and communicate simply by a few keystrokes. But does this mean it comes natural to participate within the gallery space?  Contemporary art is often characterized by the desire to communicate, instead of depicting. And the idea behind the work, the concept itself, is often more important than the craft.

We invite you to involve with these works. Help yourself, try out, make a wish! Can you buy a moment? Dare you be present in the artworks?

Can you, with your own body, be a sculpture?