Production stills while filming the 1969 '12 Hours Tide Object with Correction of Perspective', in the Dutch coast near Zandvoort. The film was consequently included in Gerry Schum's Land Art TV
Production stills, '6 Hours Tide Object with Correction of Perspective' in Maasvlakte beach, 8 February 2009. Photos: Latitudes, Paloma Polo/SKOR and Freek van Arkel
The inaugural Portscapes project took place a year ago on Sunday 8 February with the filming of a new version of Jan Dibbets' 12 Hours Tide Object with Correction of Perspective, newly titled 6 Hours Tide Object with Correction of Perspective.
Dibbets realised the original version of this classic work on the Dutch coast near Zandvoort in February 1969 and this 'second attempt' (the artist rejects the notion of a ‘remake’) was shot forty years later to the month, in February 2009 on a beach that will disappear with the construction of Maasvlakte 2. The eight minute film was premiered in the FutureLand visitor centre every Sunday during June 2009 and was screened on loop in New York, during Latitudes' participation in the non-profit festival 'No Soul for Sale' (24–28 June).
6 Hours Tide Object... records the drawing of a trapezoid shape in the sand during low tide using a bulldozer which drives back and forth along the beach. The shape consequently appears as a rectangular ‘frame’ in the resultant film due to the angle of perspective distortion in being shot from an elevated platform. Subsequently, the incoming tide washes it away. A formalistic reflection on geometry, representational illusion and the camera-’eye’, Dibbets reasserts the freshness of this fleeting filmed action with no hint of nostalgia. Within the context of the development of Maasvlakte 2 the work allows our fresh interpretations: concerning the physical modification of Dutch coastline, or new perspectives of construction, destruction and change, for example.
6 Hours Tide Object... was produced in the context of 'Portscapes', an accumulative series of ten new commissions by initiated by the Port of Rotterdam Authority with advice and financial support from SKOR (Foundation Art and Public Space, Amsterdam) curated by Latitudes, Barcelona.
An exhibition is currently on view at the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen with the resulting works realised throughout 2009. On viewuntil 25 April 2010 - free entrance.
Lara Almarcegui 'A Guide to the Wastelands of the Port of Rotterdam' (2009). Photo: Latitudes
Bik van der Pol, still of the film 'Facts on the Ground' (2009–10). Photo: Bik van der Pol
Jan Dibbets, Production stills while filming '6 Hours Tide Object With Correction of Perspective' (2009). Photos: Latitudes, Paloma Polo/SKOR and Freek van AarkelMarjolijn Dijkman, 'Here be dragons' (2009), image presented on a billboard. The second part of her project, the film 'Surviving New Island' (2009–10) will be premiered during the exhibition.
Fucking Good Art / Rob Hamelijnck & Nienke Terpsma 'Portscapes_ON AIR / Station Maasvlakte' (2009). Photo: FGAIlana Halperin, 'A Brief History of Mobile Landmass' (2009–10), audioguide. Photo: Chantal Karnaat Paulien Oltheten, Great if two pairs of legs are synchronized for a moment, (2009). Photo: Ben Wind
Christina Hemauer & Roman Keller, 'The Postpetrolistic Internationale' (2009–10). Photo: Paloma Polo / SKOR
Jorge Satorre in collaboration with Jorge Aviña, 'The Erratic. Measuring Compensation' (2010). Courtesy of the artist.
Hans Schabus, 'Europahaven, Rotterdam, 17 juni 2009' (2009) (c) the artist
'Portscapes' Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands 30 January–25 April 2010. Reception: Friday 5 February, 8pm. Free entrance
'Portscapes' will present the results of works commissioned by the Port of Rotterdam realised throughout 2009 by 10 (inter)national artists on the occasion of the beginning of the construction of Maasvlakte 2 – the 2,000 hectare land supplementation project to extend Rotterdam's port, Europe's largest seaport and industrial area. 'Portscapes' has encompassed new projects of various scales under the leitmotif itineraries and destinations – artist-led tours, film screenings, billboards and the production of film and photographic works, audio-guides, radio broadcast and field guides. + info...
The films by Rotterdam-based artists Bik van der Pol and Marjolijn Dijkman, 'Facts on the Ground' (2009–10) and 'Surviving New Land' (2009–10) respectively, will be presented for the first time coincinding with the exhibition.
Overtreders W, the designers of the exhibition, have created semi-transparent display structures for the museum’s Richard Serra Hall, using industrial materials based on the format of cargo containers.
A catalogue (€12,50) and a special-edition catalogue (€50) designed by Ben Laloua/Didier Pascal are co-published by SKOR and the Port of Rotterdam Authority on the occasion of the exhibition. The special-edition includes filmed interviews with the artists as well as the DVD of '6 Hours Tide Object with Correction of Perspective' (2009), the film produced by Jan Dibbets for 'Portscapes'. Publication available at the Museum Boijmans's shop or can be ordered via SKOR by writing to info@skor.nl or calling +31(0)20 672 25 25
Jorge Satorre's project for Portscapes had its beginnings in the eastern part of the Netherlands with a 3-tonne gneissic granite rock from the Svecofennian age, approximately 1.9 billion years ago. Following the artist’s fascination with the environmental compensation practices being instigated alongside the construction of Maasvlakte 2, his project consisted of returning the rock to where it once came from in Sweden – an act of synthetic restitution and transnational sculptural offsetting. The boulder has found a permanent home at the Wanås Foundation, near Knislinge in southern Sweden [1]. The boulder was transported from Erica, in the north east of The Netherlands, to Knislinge at the beginning of January (see report on the Swedish newspaper Kristianstadsbladet).
Not insignificantly, the celebrated Land art work 'Broken Circle' (1971) by Robert Smithson, sited in a working quarry near Emmen, incorporates such a seemingly immovable boulder at its centre. Satorre’s reverse geological gesture is also reflected in the fact that much of the existing and future sea defence in the port area will be made from rock brought from Scandinavia. The artists offers an account of the process through drawings, which incorporates both actual and imagined details. One such detail depicts an imagined protest at the beginning of the boulder’s homeward journey – see post 2 October 2009.
Jorge Satorre's project was produced in the context of 'Portscapes', an accumulative series of newly commissioned projects produced in the context of the 2,000 hectare extension to the Port of Rotterdam, the project Maasvlakte 2.
An exhibition with 'Portscapes' projects will be on view at theMuseum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam between 30 January and 25 April 2010 (Reception: Friday 5 February, 20h).
Portscapes was commissioned by the Port of Rotterdam Authority with advice and support from SKOR (Foundation Art and Public Space, Amsterdam) and was curated by Latitudes. [FOOTNOTE 1] The foundation estate encompasses a medieval castle, an organic farm, and a sculpture park which since 1987 has hosted a number of permanent works by international artists.
Images: Journey and placement of the boulder from the newspaper Kristianstadsbladet; drawing 'The Erratic. Measuring Compensation' (2009), courtesy of the artist.
Over 80 visitors enjoyed the 'The Postpetrolistic Internationale' choir performance, a project by the Zurich-based artists Roman Keller & Christina Hemauer as well as the tour around four wasteland sites included in the research publication of the guide 'Wastelands of the Port of Rotterdam' by Rotterdam-based artist Lara Almarcegui.
A exhibition of the projects will take place at the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen from 5 February, coinciding with Art Rotterdam. Exhibition on view until end of March 2010.
The opening will coincide with the art fair Art Rotterdam (4–7 February) and 'Divided Divided', a solo exhibition by the Stockholm-based artist Carsten Höller also opening at the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen on February 5th.
The films commissions by Rotterdam-based artistsBik van der Pol and Marjolijn Dijkman will be premiered coincinding with the exhibition. Project website: www.portscapes.nl (Dutch/English) Other Latitudes' flickr photo setshere.
Bus Tour – Portscapes public art projects on the Maasvlakte, Rotterdam
On Sunday 8 November SKOR and the Port of Rotterdam Authority are organising a tour coinciding with the 4th International Architecture Biennial Rotterdam. The tour is programmed in the context of Portscapes, a series of art projects related to the construction of the Maasvlakte 2 commissioned by the Port of Rotterdam Authority. The Maasvlakte 2 project is the ongoing extension of the port by 2,000 hectares, which will be constructed in the North Sea in the next five years. SKOR invited the duo Latitudes from Barcelona, who has curated a series of projects reflecting on the architectural, political, social and ecological aspects of the past, present and future of the Rotterdam port with a focus on the new Maasvlakte 2. Portscapes consists of ten new commissions in and about the Maasvlakte by Dutch and international artists, including interventions, films, performances and mobile seminars.
Bus tour bookings: write to ad [at] skor.nl by 2 November 2009 Free tour. English spoken An exhibition of the Portscapes projects will be on show at the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam from 5 February, until late March 2010.
Programme on 8 November (please note: programme subject to changes)
09.45 am – Leave from NAI Rotterdam, Museumpark 25 3015 CB, Rotterdam On the way to the port you can listen to interviews by Fucking Good Art on mp3 players in the bus. Amongst others, Hans Aarsman, an industrial ecologist, a botanist and an archaeologist, will describe his vision of the Maasvlakte on the basis of his field of expertise. The artistic duo FGA broadcast this and other conversations from a temporary web radio station in a container united placed on the Maasvlakte between 21 August and 21 September. 10.45 am – Visit to wastelands by artist Lara Almarcegui and botanist Remko Andeweg The Spanish-born Rotterdam-based artist Lara Almarcegui has published a free newspaper research project concerning the ‘wasteland’ areas which can be encountered throughout the Port of Rotterdam. Almarcegui and botanist Remko Andeweg will describe these areas characterised by an apparent lack of human intervention. 12.00 am – Arrival at Futureland, the Maasvlakte information centre On the way we pass the billboards by the artists Marjolijn Dijkman, Jorge Satorre, Paulien Oltheten and Hans Schabus.
Lunch in Futureland, provided by the Rotterdam Port Authority. Introduction by Latitudes, curators of 'Portscapes' 1.00 pm – Tour of the artworks in and around Futureland You can view work by Paulien Oltheten and Hans Schabus and explore the nearby area picking up Ilana Halperin’s audio tour. Halperin created a compelling narrative of fragments which draws on fact, fiction and personal fieldwork – as well as site surveys by volcanologists, geologists and the experts involved in the construction of Maasvlakte 2.
1.30 pm – Performance 'Postpetrolistic Internationale' The project by Swiss artists Roman Keller & Christina Hemauer emerges from the medium of the collective human voice, the tradition of the aspirational social anthem alongside the artists’ long standing interest in energy use. The project starts with the transportation of a wooden stage along the Rhine from Basel (where the Rhine begins), near the artists’ home, to Rotterdam (where the Rhine joins the sea) – see post 30.10.09. Upon arrival a local choir will perform this anthem of hope-in-action (composed by the artists in collaboration with musician Mathias Vette) on the stage, against a backdrop of local industry, to mark man’s changing relationship with fossil fuels and energy use.
2 pm – Return to NAI Rotterdam with a number of stops at various art projects along the way: wastelands by Lara Almarcegui and works by Paulien Oltheten
3 pm – Arrival in NAI Rotterdam. End of the journey.
Para reservar tu lugar, escribe a ad@skor.nl antes del 2 November 2009. Accesso gratuito, tour será en inglés.
Exposición de los proyectos de Portscapes tendrá lugar en el Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam, a partir del 5 de Febrero y hasta finales de Marzo 2010.
– PROGRAMA 8 NOVIEMBRE, 9.45-15hs (Nota: programa sujeto a cambios de última hora)
09.45 am – Salida desde NAI Rotterdam, Museumpark 25 3015 CB, Rotterdam Durante el recorrido se podrá escuchar mediante auriculares una entrevista al ecologista, botanista, y arqueólogo Hans Aarsman realizada por el duo FGA durante su residencia en un container emplazado en el Maasvlakte, desde donde recogieron conversaciones temáticas y exploraciones de campo. + info...
10.45 am – Visita de terrenos baldíos por Lara Almarcegui y el botanista Remko Andeweg.
La artista española afincada en Rotterdam Lara Almarcegui ha publicado una guía en formato periódico en la que se recoge su investigación entorno a los actuales terrenos baldíos que pueden encontrarse a lo largo de puerto de Rotterdam. En contraste con la gran planificación que circunda el futuro Maasvlakte 2, Almarcegui se interesa por los espacios definidos por la aparente falta de diseño y desarrollo. El público navegará el puerto como un territorio interconectado con la ayuda de esta guía que, como ha manifestado la artista, "actuará como una herramienta para conocerlo mejor (...) para ver cómo el territorio está cambiando. En el futuro, cuando la mayoría de estos terrenos se vean modificados, la guía actuará como un documento histórico que describirá cómo fue el puerto en el 2009".
12.00 am – Visita del centro de visitantes Futureland y almuerzo Durante el viaje se podrán ver las vallas publicitarias de los artistas Marjolijn Dijkman, Jorge Satorre, Paulien Oltheten y Hans Schabus. A la llegada Latitudes, comisarios de 'Portscapes', introducirán los proyectos.
1.00 pm – Visita de las obras presentadas en Futureland y alrededores Visita de las obras de Paulien Oltheten y Hans Schabus así como la audioguía 'A Brief History of Mobile Landmass' realizada por Ilana Halperin. La audioguía narra fragmentos reales y ficticios recogidos a partir de la investigación de la artista y expertos entorno a volcanes y estudios de campo relacionados con la presente construcción del Maasvlakte 2 – escuchar capítulos o descargar archivos aquí
1.30 pm – ' Postpetrolistic Internationale', performance de Roman Keller & Christina Hemauer El proyecto de los suizos Roman Keller & Christina Hemauer comienza con el transporte de un escenario a lo largo del Rin, desde Basilea (donde el Rin abandona Suiza) y cerca de donde viven los artistas, hasta Rotterdam (donde el Rin desemboca en el mar) - léase post 30.10.09. A su llegada un coro cantará la 'The Postpetrolistic Internationale', un himno social compuesto por los artistas en colaboración con el músico y compositor Mathias Vetter, que proclama el comienzo de una nueva era donde el petróleo pertenece al pasado. Los días 7 y 8 de noviembre un coro local interpretará este himno de esperanza sobre el escenario en pleno paisaje industrial, para poner en perspectiva la historia evolución de hombre y su relación con los combustibles fósiles y el uso de la energía. Ésta será la primera vez que se cantará en inglés.
2 pm – Regreso al NAI Rotterdam con varias paradas durante el recorrido a los terrenos valdíos seleccionados por Lara Almarcegui y obras de Paulien Oltheten
During the summer of 2009, Jorge Satorre was searching for, and eventually located, a large boulder – specifically one of the giant rocks carried by glaciers into The Netherlands from Scandinavia during the last Ice Age. Following the artist’s fascination with the environmental compensation projects being instigated alongside the construction of Maasvlakte 2, his project seeks to identify this rock’s precise place of origin and then return it to where it came from – an act of synthetic restitution and transnational sculptural offsetting. Satorre’s reverse geological gesture furthermore mirrors the monumental construction of the Maasvlakte 2 as a sculpting of land-form which, like the action of ice but in a far shorter time, is fundamentally altering the morphology of The Netherlands. The action is also reflected in the fact that much of the existing and future sea defense in the port area will be made from rock brought from Scandinavia. The artist’s accompanying pencil drawings offer an account of the process which incorporate both actual and imagined details, like a storyboard. A single drawing which depicts an imagined protest at the beginning of the boulder’s journey is realised as a billboard near the Futureland visitor’s centre.
Paulien Oltheten's videos and photographs can also be seen until mid-November 2009 in and around Futureland, the Maasvlakte visitors’ centre [MAP HERE]. From there, visitors can set off with a route description to the locations on the Maasvlakte where other work can be seen.
Locations and some images of Oltheten's mini-billboards:
The public domain and human behaviour is the starting point for the work of Paulien Oltheten (1982), though she has described her approach as closer to that of an anthropologist rather than artist. With her still and video cameras, she generally searches with apparent casualness for moments when there is contact between people, objects and public space. On the Maasvlakte, Oltheten was faced with the fact that the familiar frame of reference of natural elements, such as trees, bushes and people, was almost completely lacking. Oltheten decided to make use of this alienation by arranging meetings with people. This resulted in a series of photographs and two short video pieces. These stagings mostly take place in locations on the Maasvlakte that will disappear or be displaced during the coming years. The photographs and videos are sometimes variations on the theme of ‘one becomes two’, referring to the Maasvlakte, of which there will later be two.
Futureland is on Europaweg 909, 3199 LC Maasvlakte, Rotterdam (Havennummer 8213). It is across the road from the E.ON power plant. Open Tuesday-Friday 10am-5pm and on Sunday 11am-5pm. Entry is free. Map here
As her contribution to ‘Portscapes’, New York-born Glasgow-based artist Ilana Halperin has created a spoken-word narrative in Dutch and English for visitors to the port. Available at the visitor center Futureland (map here) and online (www.portscapes.nl) from September 18 until 2013, ‘A Brief History of Mobile Landmass’ is an audio field guide inspired by a perception of Maasvlakte 2 in terms of formidable geophysical phenomena and a geological sense of time.
The artist has assembled a compelling narrative of fragments which draws on fact, fiction and personal fieldwork – as well as site surveys by volcanologists, geologists and the experts involved in the construction of Maasvlakte 2. It offers echoes, speculations and interpretations surrounding both the artificial and natural processess whereby new land is created. Recalling Jules Verne’s ‘Voyages Extraordinaires’, this 'book on tape' couples a wealth of scientific information with wonder and vivid description.
Halperin is your guide through a landscape with tales of newborn islands, otherworldly Hawaiian magma and the fire deity Pele, a Rotterdam ‘lava flow’ or the ‘industrial volcanoes’ of its port. To paraphrase Mark Twain’s astonished account of the eruption of Kilauea in 1866: “Here is room for the imagination to work!”.
'Portscapes' is an accumulative series ofnewly commissioned projectstaking place throughout2009alongside the construction ofRotterdam's [51° 55' N 4° 29' E]Maasvlakte 2(MV2) – an extension to Europe's largest seaport and industrial area which will be realised between2008 and 2013by reclaiming 2,000 hectare area of reclaimed land (see imageshere) that will extend thePort of Rotterdam, Europe's largest seaport and industrial area by 20%.
Portscapesis commissioned by thePort of Rotterdam Authoritywith advice and support fromSKOR(Foundation for Art and Public Space, Amterdam) and is curated by the Barcelona-based curatorial office Latitudes.
[Two first images courtesy of Ben Wind, rest of images courtesy of the artist]
Images of the 'base camp' and surroundings where the editors of Rotterdam-based printed and online art magazine Fucking Good Art will be until 21 September. All images courtesy FGA.
Initiated and edited by artists Rob Hamelijnck and Nienke Terpsma in 2003, Fucking Good Art is a Rotterdam-based printed and online art magazine which publishes reports, interviews, critical writing and observations with a non-academic, freestyle and do-it-yourself attitude. The editors of FGA explores creative communities by residing in particular local contexts for extended periods, and specific magazine issues have grown out of residencies in cities including Munich, Berlin, Copenhagen, Riga, Zurich and São Paulo.
Adapting their embedded approach for Portscapes, the editors of FGA are living and working in a ‘base camp’ on the Maasvlakte for 5 weeks, starting 20 August while producing Portscapes_ON AIR. Comprising a series of audio walks, field recordings and conversations with guests from different disciplinesPortscapes_ON AIR will be broadcast on the internet (www.portscapes.nl).
Inspired by their camp’s proximity to the pipeline which carries sand from the Yangtzehaven to the future Maasvlakte 2, the editors of FGA approach their endeavour both as inhabitants of an industrial and man-made territory and in relation to the redistribution and displacement of knowledge. Alongside other grand movements of transportation and trade taking place in the port, FGA’s broadcasts take shape through encounters with others and consider the role that art and artists have in other registers of exchange. Starting from the principal that in order to really understand a place one needs to really inhabit it, and the question of how to represent a place like as Maasvlakte 2 which does not yet fully exist, the editors of FGA also aim to stimulate discussion about the representation of Dutch landscape. They hope that their project could be pilot for a further research residencies.
Guests / participants contributing to Fucking Good Art's research on Maasvlakte and webradio:
Frank Bruggeman: Designer, artist and one of the editors of 'Club Donny', a strictly unedited journal on the personal experience of nature in the urban enviroment.
Hans Aarsman: Former photo journalist, and currently columnist for the Dutch newspaper "De Volkskrant" and playwriter. In 1988 he travelled for one year in Holland in his camper van - a Citroën HY - to produced the book 'Hollandse Taferelen'. He has published several publications: the photo book 'Aarsmans Amsterdam' (1993), his first novel 'Twee hoofden, een kussen' (1995) and in 2003 the autobiographical book 'Vrrooom! Vrrooomm!'. Some of his photos are free for download at the Nederlands Fotomuseum.
Remko Andeweg: Botanical analyst, City biologist of Rotterdam and author of the book 'Vreemde Planten in Rotterdam' [Exotic plants in Rotterdam, 2002], about the migration of plants that are considered foreign and endanger domestic vegetation.
Lino Hellings: Errorist! Recently founded the press agency P.A.P.A, an international network of artists and correspondents that creates news by taking action. Co-author of the publication "An Architecture of Interaction", and one of the founders of Dogtroep (1975), a self-styled form of visual theatre.
Gijsbert Korevaar: Industrial Ecologist.
Aurélie Barbier: A French urban planner specialised in emerging cities. Currently working for Urbaplan, an urban planning firm based in Switzerland. She has worked on various projects in Southern Europe and sub-Saharan African countries (Cameroon, Niger, Ghana). Over the past five years, she has focused on the definition of master plan, regulatory plan and slum upgrading projects through a comprehensive approach that includes both social and technical dimensions of urban development.
Martin Blum: Swiss artist and farmer. Works together with Haimo Ganz under the name GANZBLUM. In their art projects they focus on (life)cycles. Martin recently started public art projects on his farm "Frohe Aussicht" outside Zurich.
Marjolijn de Kok: Theoretical archeologist specialised on settlements and the wetlands of Holland. Also co-publisher of LIMA.
John Lonsdale: Architect. In the last years he has begun mapping the ‘Mudscapes of the Netherlands’ whereby he strives for the reconciliation of architecture with landscape.
Achilleka Komguem: Artist from Duala. Editor of journal 'Diartgonale' and worked on a radio show in Bessengue. He is in visiting Holland for 'Talking about!' a project by curators Zoë Gray and Lucia Babina that brings six artists and cultural producers from Cameroon to the Netherlands. FGA are hosting Achilleka during his visit.
CLUI: The Centre for Land Use Interpretation is a research organisation based in Culver City, Los Angeles, involved in exploring, examining, and understanding land and landscape issues. The Center employs a variety of methods to pursue its mission - engaging in research, classification, extrapolation, and exhibition. http://www.clui.org
Video of a recent sandstorm. Courtesy FGA.
Thanks to PUMA for providing the accommodation and Delta for the electricity.
Hans Schabus’ project for Portscapes is the next chapter in his ongoing series of ‘arrival photographs’ featuring the sailing boat Forlorn. The artist has produced a new photograph which can be seen on a roadside 5 x 9 metre billboard on the A15 (1km before reaching the visitor centre Futureland -- satellite view here), and is also distributed as a postcard. A presentation of Forlorn, the film ‘Western’ (2002), a series of photographs and the postcard will be on view at Futureland (directions and opening hours below) until 15 August, a presentation that has been conceived in collaboration with the artist to give further insight into the context of this extraordinary image – below a photo of the billboard presentation followed by production shots (all images: Freek van Arkel).
The Forlorn (2002) is a wooden-hulled ‘Optimist’ class sailing dinghy designed for a crew of one; in fact it is intended for children. The project of the ‘arrival photographs’ started with Western (2002), a film in which we see Schabus navigating through the sewers of his native Vienna in the self-built boat. He paddles through several sewage tracts until reaching a canal, a one way trip through a sinister labyrinth, a dark and obscure underground world. The film makes reference to Orson Welles’ 1949 film The Third Man through the use of the original score – at the film’s climax, Harry Lime flees from the authorities through the same sewers.
Since then the Forlorn has emerged into the light to undertake an unexplained and pitifully lonely global journey in which its single sailor is seen apparently arriving for the first time at different locations. First to a very foggy New York, a city which evoked a more radiant promised land for those many immigrants who arrived there by sea. Then onwards to Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Lake Constance, Bregenz, Austria; and Venice, Italy. The existential journey comprises a seemingly endless quest or escape, a migration voyage seen only at moments of hope and promise in making safe landfall. Will the migrant receive a warm or hostile reception on each new territory?
In the new image 'Europahaven, Rotterdam, 17 Juni 2009', the sailor navigates towards the huge container terminals of the Port of Rotterdam and a vast cargo ship. Sailing at a point which will become the new entrance to Maasvlakte 2, the simplest of water vehicles and a single man appear in stark contrast to an overwhelmingly modern manifestation of seafaring trade. Despite the speed, scale and efficiency of the port, the image seems to indicate that on a human scale the vastness of maritime space nevertheless remains a vulnerable and mythologically rich territory.
Hans Schabus’ (1970 Watschig, Austria. Lives in Vienna, Austria) sculptures and interventions often refer directly to his mental and physical surroundings, particularly to his studio and also by exploring excavation, transportation and engineering. His work embraces ecological cycles of construction, destruction and renewal – elements that were present in the 2004 exhibition at Kunsthaus Bregenz, where the artist transformed the entire building into a complex and convoluted architectonic and mental path of discovery. The show included large-scale videos of train journeys to visit the venue during preparations, as well as flooding the ground floor and encompassing an imaginary tunnel to the basement of the building. In 2006 he produced the ‘Book of Ballast’ in which he explored a mostly forgotten sea connection between Liverpool and the US city of Savannah. Schabus documented numerous stones which made their way as ballast on ships to ports on the east coast of America, where they were put to use to pave streets and build houses. The artist became more widely known when he represented Austria at the 2005 Venice Biennale with the project The Last Land, whereby he created a maze inside a ‘mountain’ that completely covered the pavilion building.
Schabus’ solo projects include: Next Time I’m Here, I’ll Be There, The Curve, Barbican Gallery, London (2008); Deserted Conquest, SITE Santa Fe, New Mexico (2007); Kasseler Kunstverein, Kassel, Germany (2006); Kunsthaus Bregenz, Bregenz, Austria (2004); and Secession, Vienna, Austria (1996 and 2003). Group exhibitions include: Revolutions – Forms That Turn, Biennale of Sydney (2008); Turin Triennial (2005); and Manifesta 4, Frankfurt (2004).
Postcard produced for 'Portscapes':
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Futureland is on the edge of the current Maasvlakte along the extension of the A15. It is across the road from the E.ON power plant. The information center is open from Tuesday–Friday (10am-5pm) and on Sunday (11am-5pm). Free entrance.
'Portscapes' is a series of newly commissioned public projects taking place alongside the construction of Maasvlakte 2 – the extension to the Port of Rotterdam. www.portscapes.nl
Transposing our daily operations from Barcelona to New York's 22nd Street, Latitudes is presenting its recent publications, project-related paraphernalia and documentation. The office ‘scenario’ is conceived by the artist group The Bruce High Quality Foundation, incorporating dining furniture from the abandoned 1983 Burger King from Governor’s Island (see images above and below), where they have recently filmed 'Isle of the Dead'. This zombie movie about the death of culture in New York will be premiered during Creative Time’s ‘This World & Nearer Ones’ (opening June 27,2–4pm). Latitudes first collaborated with Bedford-Stuyvesant-based The Bruce High Quality Foundation for the group exhibition ‘Greenwashing. Environment: Perils, Promises and Perplexities’ (Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin, Italy, February–May 2008). Touching on themes such as gentrification and public space, satire and self-promotion, its activities have included reality TV, films, tableaux vivants, photography, protests, installations, merchandising and a production based on the musical Cats.
During NO SOUL FOR SALE we are also showing Jan Dibbets’ 6 Hours Tide Object with Correction of Perspective (1969/2009) (8 mins.) as well as the 'making of' the film (20 mins). Shot in February 2009 and premiered on 14 June in Rotterdam, this Dibbets work is the inaugural project of Portscapes, the Latitudes-curated commission series taking place throughout 2009 in and around Maasvlakte 2, a 5000 acre extension to the Port of Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
NO SOUL FOR SALE: 24–28 June, 1–9pm. Free admission. 28 June, 6–7pm: Screening three films by The Bruce High Quality Foundation
X INITIATIVE: 548 West 22nd Street, New York, NY 10011 (former Dia Center) GETTING THERE: C or E train to West 23 Street station, and walk west on 22nd towards X
Latitudes is
a Barcelona-based curatorial
office initiated in 2005 by Max Andrews and Mariana
Cánepa Luna. This is our blog,
affiliated to our website www.LTTDS.org
Latitudes es
una oficina curatorial
con base en Barcelona iniciada en 2005 por Max Andrews y Mariana
Cánepa Luna. Este es el blog
afiliado a nuestra web www.LTTDS.org
Production stills while filming the 1969 '12 Hours Tide Object with Correction of Perspective', in the Dutch coast near Zandvoort.
Production stills, '6 Hours Tide Object with Correction of Perspective' in Maasvlakte beach, 8 February 2009. 
