News

CAMPSITE was a festival that took place from 24 March to 10 April at TENT Rotterdam, where artists from TimeWindow were grouped together to create and present new works by using existing works as starting points.

To define the collaborations, Widdies Maria Sartzetaki as the dramaturge and Giovanna Di Giacomo as the curator, considered thematic and aesthetic possibilities, as well as artists’ availabilities, wishes and needs. On top of that, they had the intention of encouraging artists to experiment with new angles, disciplines and spaces, aiming to further contribute to their artistic development.

This is a recap after the residencies and performances from week 3.

MICROCOSM

Collaboration between Noemi Calzavara and c00 with An emotional analysis of (Performance, 2022) and Ugo Petronin with Ninfa Fluida (Film, 2023)

Noemi Calzavara and Ugo Petronin merged performance and film installation to investigate the relationship between humans and tiny creatures, highlighting the fluidity of these different bodies. An emotional analysis of explores fear, empathy, and carefreeness by looking at the way humans relate to insects. Ninfa Fluida uses microscopic imagery, underwater sounds, and 18th-century Dutch river poetry to provide a multilayered perspective on the Rotte river.

In this collaboration, artists were not only able to combine their works into a sensitive and coherent piece but also to create new material during their residency days. Resembling a confused insect, Calzavara was captured by Petronin as she desperately ran through the space. By using thermal imaging, these shots gave a new perspective to her movement and were shown in the room when no performance was taking place. The performance began as the audience watched the screening of the fascinating fluidity of the beings in Ninfa Fluida, combined with its poetry and the hypnotic sounds by c00. Smoothly, the audience’s attention was drawn to another body in the room. Dressed in a fragmented costume and wearing a motorcycle helmet, Calzavara impressed the audience with a sequence of movements that explored and challenged her body. Together, Calzavara, c00, and Petronin reminded the audience that fluidity is not unique to our human bodies, but that we indeed have much in common with insects and other tiny creatures.

NEW ANGLES

Collaboration between Borus.fuckyea with Death drive (Illustration, 2023) and Rosa Vrij with house (Performance Book Presentation, originally created with Ben Weir, co-production: VIA ZUID, 2022)

With performance, illustration and literature, borus.fuckyea and Rosa Vrij invited the audience to the here and now; by exploring new perspectives of daily life. Death drive focused on letting go of the fear of death, by accepting and embracing it as a part of life, while house reflected on the relationship between the body and architecture.

Death drive consisted of several illustrated papers that were pasted to the walls of CAMPSITE. Together, they formed a large-scale image of a skull, through which visitors could walk and wonder about the path to death. house, on the other hand, could only be fully experienced during performance times because it required the active participation of visitors. This occurred during three 1:30-hour mindful sessions in which participants were divided into groups and directed to read texts and view illustrations that documented the reflections of Vrij and Weir on experiencing architecture in different ways than usual. To conclude the session, participants were asked to write a letter to a loved one about their relation with space.

Participants during the performative book presentation by Rosa Vrij and illustration by borus.fuckyea at CAMPSITE Festival. Picture by Cem Altinöz.

Although the works of Vrij and borus.fuckyea took different shapes, they certainly complemented and affected each other. Death drive remained greatly visible during the performative book presentation, influencing the participants’ perception of the architecture surrounding them. In addition, Vrij and borus.fuckyea took time to reflect on the room where they presented their works during their residency and created illustrations together during the presentation moments. In this way, the two artists exchanged and created insights on how to use spatial experiences to sensitize the audience to become more aware of the world around them – something so important in our hectic lives.

CYCLES OF BELONGING

Collaboration between Lucien Rentmeester with Cirkel (Performance, 2019) and Zouhair Mtazi with De Speer (Film, 2022)

Lucien Rentmeester and Zouhair Mtazi combined performance and film to engage with how people and art travel through revealing cycles. De Speer is a short fiction film about two night guards of the Wereldmuseum who decide to return an ancient looted artwork to its country of origin – by stealing it from this museum. Cirkel is an autobiographical performance, where Lucien Rentmeester reflects on insights he has gained during different stages of his life.

This collaboration was initially challenging for technical reasons. Nevertheless, it evolved into a beautiful coexistence with multiple layers of meaning. Outside of the performance moments, De Speer was shown on a loop in the mini-cinema. During the performances, the audience was led into this same space. But instead of the film screening, they found Rentmeester softly reciting a poem and carrying a laptop showing sped-up footage of a walking path. Then Rentmeester turned on De Speer and watched it together with the audience.

Lucien Rentmeester performing during CAMPSITE Festival. Picture by Cem Altinöz.

After the film ended, he stood in front of the audience again and suddenly interrupted the silence in the room by shouting loudly and angrily, ‘Ik ben dat niet, Ik wil dat niet’ (from Dutch: I am not that, I do not want that). In contrast to what had just happened, he then took two connected pieces of wood and played with them quietly and continuously for the next few minutes. With the help of a flashlight on his head, he was able to create different shades and shapes with this fascinating object, which he observed with full attention. Eventually, Mtazi also appeared in the room, dressed exactly as in De Speer.

Without a doubt, this piece gives room for multiple interpretations. Overall, Rentmeester and Mtazi immersed the audience in a surprising sequence, which could be related to the effects of colonialism, not only culturally and socially, but also on a personal and introspective level.

ROLE SWITCH

Publieksrecensies (Ashley Boom) with Reviewing the audience (Writings, since 2016) in response to multiple works on show

In Reviewing the audience, Publieksrecensies writes reviews about how the audience interacted with works shown at CAMPSITE Festival, as if they were the ones giving the performance. Almost like a spy, Publieksrecensies joined the audience during some performances at CAMPSITE. But differently from other audience members, her focus was not on the performances, but rather on the audience members’ reaction to them, which she carefully documented.

These notes were later turned into humorous articles that described reactions the performances arose on the audience. In addition to being printed and placed on the wall of CAMPSITE’s corridor, these texts were also published online on the Publieksrecensies website. In this way, the work that Publieksrecensies produced remains available for anyone who wants to delve deeper into the details of the performances. Similarly to KUNST by Tessa & Olivier, this work also took place during more than one week of the festival, as it reinforced the proposal of looking at art in different ways than usual; this time through the spontaneous and curious reactions of the public.

Publieksrecensies writing a review about the audience during CAMPSITE Festival. Picture by Cem Altinöz.

Credits CAMPSITE FESTIVAL

Special thanks to TENT Rotterdam for this incredible opportunity and to the amazing Widdies that contributed to make this festival happen by helping with its production and execution: Anique Nahumury, Ashley Boom, Bianca Casaburi, Borus Fortuin, Cem Altinöz, Daphnis, Didi Kreike, Ewan Macbeth, Giovanna Di Giacomo, Giulia Fuel, Jette Schneider, Jip Warmerdam, Judith Schoneveld, Koen Caris, Lucien Rentmeester, Maria Sartzetaki, Marie Caye, Marta Worner, Moritz Geremus, Nikos ten Hoedt, Rosa Vrij, Tessa Friedrich