ACADEMIEGALERIE

What happens when you take a day off, refusing to turn along with the world? One may think that such a day void of any motion and action has no consequences. Guido van der Werve took this question literally and left for the North Pole, where he spent 24 hours on the axis of the world. For one whole day he did not move along with Earth, but let the planet rotate around him. This almost Copernican inversion is both absurd and poetic, grotesque and moving. A tiny figure in the middle of a white icy plane, in a solitary fight against the tyranny of calendar calculations and the ticking of the clock.

Guido van der Werve (1977, Papendrecht, The Netherlands) constructs possible scenarios and imaginary realities where various geographies collide in order to generate momentary sensations of unusual, dream-like intensity. An accomplished classical pianist, composer, and chess player, he studied industrial design, archaeology, and Russian before focusing on fine art—first on painting, then performance work, and finally, film. He aims to create a visual and conceptual language that manifests a similar directness to the one that is typical in music. To date he has completed ten short film works that he describes as “possible scenarios of imaginary realities.” His work is regularly shown in international exhibitions and film festivals. In 2003 he received the René Coelho Award.