Kunsthuis SYB

translation: Jenny Wilson

It is no coincidence. One hundred years after Sir Robert Falcon Scott’s famous English ‘Terra Nova’ Expedition, with the aim of being the first to reach the Antarctic, two Dutch artists set out on a voyage of discovery. From Kunsthuis SYB in Beetsterzwaag to the geographical centre of the Wadden Sea; the most unspoilt natural scenery in the Netherlands. In their individual work and in different ways, Sjoerd van Leeuwen (Zaandam, 1985) and Harald den Breejen (Dordrecht, 1983) often focus their attention on experiencing the landscape. During their residency at Kunsthuis SYB they wanted to explore new territory. In brotherly fashion they trained in and around Beetsterzwaag, preparing their fitness levels for their first mutual expedition, and they built an iconic sledge. Intrigued for a long time by the history of Scott’s heroic expedition – which ended in terrible deception, ultimately resulting in the tragic death of them all, when it became apparent that the Norwegians had in fact reached the fixed destination earlier – it was time for empirical research material. What does undertaking an expedition mean? Although plenty was brought into consideration, they were simply unable to foresee everything.

It was far more difficult than expected. Solely with manpower and the utmost of discipline, the heavily loaded sledge, that included a crate of whisky bottles, was pulled over the paved roads. Advancing at an excruciatingly slow thirteen kilometres per day, for five full days. A test of their endurance. Doubt was also quietly present: will we get off the mudflats in time with the sledge? This voyage of discovery revolved on the one hand around the rational centre of the Wadden Sea, yet was simultaneously also about the impalpable reason for the venture and the experience of the landscape they walked through. After returning from their completed journey, the artists reminisce during their concluding artists’ talk at SYB on certain events along the way that seem funny now, but could have had significant consequences. For instance, on the first night they discovered they were missing a tent pole, and on the last day they were stopped because of alleged wild camping.

The entire project was a continuous performance. As living sculpture the artists drew a line through the landscape with their sledge. The journey had already become history upon the moment of return. Yet everything that transpired along the way was brought ‘home’ as part of their research and applied to complete the circle. It was no coincidence once again, when a policeman temporarily interrupted the artists’ talk to reprimand the artists for the erected tent in SYB’s garden. Even beforehand, in the run up to their expedition, certain points were already connected in an associative manner. For instance, van Leeuwen and den Breejen invited fellow artist Clare Noonan to give a personal lecture when they discovered that the Antarctic expedition set out from Lyttelton harbour in Christchurch, New Zealand, where Noonan grew up. It is also not surprising that the duo admire the British science historian James Burke, who demonstrated how discoveries can originate and evolve within a web of related events in his famous television series, “Connections” (1978).

Aside from preparatory actions and the performance journey itself, curating the exhibition afterwards also became an important part of the residency. How do you translate such an intense experience? Van Leeuwen and den Breejen tested various forms of presentation within one week; moving around their documentation – as well as newly created material – within Kunsthuis SYB like pieces of a puzzle. The result: a well-balanced, slightly hermetic entirety. The sledge is pontifically present in the front room. Seemingly weightless, it hangs from the ceiling rotating in a witty yet threatening manner around a mini Achmea tower from Leeuwarden. Behind it looms the physical form of James Burke in a projected video fragment. As an omniscient example of scientific nature, his imposing portrait simultaneously gains a religious dimension. This combination of rational documentation and physical perception establishes itself further.  ‘Memorabilia’ pops up in the surrounding spaces, such as the four walking sticks that were used, and also presented are the polaroid photographs the artists made; occasionally of one another, although mostly of the vast landscape. “I hope that everything goes according to plan, so that it can go utterly wrong!”, can be read in a framed email from a friend. And even the visitor’s explorative spirit is addressed. ‘Clambering’ over a trio of stone blocks, and looking up you’ll see written on the roof-beams: “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, so it has always been and so it shall remain, poor is the traveller and false are…” That’s where the last beam stops. The sublime feeling as experienced by the artists, remains literally and figuratively intangible for the visitor.

At the end of the journey through the house, the voice of Godfried Bomans finally resounds from a rather pathetically erected expedition tent in the garden. It is a nice addition, which also injects some emotion. In 1971, the writer spent a week alone on the temporarily abandoned Frisian island of Rottemerplaat, where he nearly had a mental breakdown. Yet, “I completed it (..) even though it was difficult”, resounds his radio message in the tent. Van Leeuwen and den Breejen can also recount their adventure. They personally form the connective tissue between the starting points. You can ask yourself whether the many references and subtle connections within the story could also have been unravelled without any explanation. Rather appropriately, van Leeuwen and den Breejen will be showing new work in Groningen this autumn, furthering their journey during “In search of..”, a cultural event concerning the work of the artist Bas Jan Ader. Someone who incidentally, just like Scott and his crew, did not return from his (artistic) journey; an attempt at crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a sailboat. What kind of form will their voice take on there?

When Kunsthuis SYB was suddenly closed for a day recently, a small note was displayed on the door. “We are just going outside, and may be some time”. To the quick passerby it probably seemed to be a normal or funny announcement. In actual fact, van Leeuwen and den Breejen had appropriated a statement from the Terra Nova Expedition. Incredibly weakened, the man no longer wanted to be a burden to his comrades and after uttering these words he walked onto the expanse of ice, never to return again. Two expeditions, miles apart and separated by a century, melt together beautifully in Beetsterzwaag.