Ladder and Hole
The Ladder and Hole and the Cabaret were collaborations with fellow artist Paulina Olowska during the Open Studios of our last year at the Rijksakademie. The works were inspired by the 1970's student revolution that had occurred at the Rijksakademie when it was still an academic institution. We were impressed by the students' display of solidarity when, in 1971, they had held a sit-in and placed a large wooden knife over the building's entrance, symbolizing a cut into the rigid institution. Taking this metaphor literally, I cut a hole between my studio and Paulina's above, and connected our spaces with a ladder. The photograph of the knife with a small text hung at my studio entrance:
In 1971 during the time of the revolution, students raised a wooden
knife to the facade of the then-Rijksakademie building.
In 2002 a cut was made from one studio into another, creating a
permanent hole between them.
Images from Installation and performance
The Cabaret began in the lower studio and continued in the upper studio. The scenes were accessible via the ladder. Paulina and I included storytelling with Willem de Ridder, spoken word, and a re-enactment of a personal conversation we had about painting and the artists from history with whom we desired to sleep. Matilda Rosier played piano.