Art installation offers visitors filtered air at NDSM

Artist Anne-Jan Reijn is one of the two winners of the Open Call that was organized this year by the NDSM-werf Foundation. His installation Public air filters  is part of the exhibition Asbestos, the Magic Mineral in New Dakota. This exhibition opens there in mid-September. The air filters can already be found in the public space of the NDSM wharf from 11 July.

Public air filters 

Anne-Jan Reijn asks himself what actually happens in the open air we breathe. Filtering air in the public space automatically creates a dichotomy: filtered air and unfiltered air. This immediately raises a question: can the unfiltered air not be trusted? The series of sculptures by Anne Jan can be viewed between July and October and changes during this period. This slow process is in fact the essence of the work.

In theory, every cubic meter of filtered air leaves a residue on the outside of the filters. The artist wants to play with this residue, creating an archeology of air filter pollution, in which a form of manipulation is allowed. What if that residue on the filters forms the most amazing colored crystals? Does that have a direct psychological effect, making the air we breathe, for example, undesirable or unpleasant? Reijn plays with the idea of ​​danger that we cannot see. Invisible risks that are in the air, such as asbestos or a virus, inspire fear, but can also inspire a form of awe. With this work, the artist offers a different perspective on this fact by materializing the invisible. “We are constantly connected to invisible matter – and with it the risks – and we try to eliminate it systematically. In the current era, the relationship of trust we have with science and politics is under great pressure,” says Anne-Jan Reijn.

Under no circumstances does the artist claim that the filtered air is safer than the unfiltered air: “This is really a work of art, which plays with the idea of distinction.”

About the NDSM Open Call pf Stichting NDSM-werf

The NDSM-werf Foundation annually appeals to makers and initiatives at the wharf to stimulate art and creativity at NDSM. Some previous winners were: Henk Schut, theater group Babok and the Museum of Unintentional Art. “Especially in this difficult time, we want to support artists and creatives who have a strong relationship with the yard to continue making work and presenting it to the public,” said Petra Heck, curator at the foundation. This year, two entries won. In addition to Anne Jan Reijn, artist Luca Boscardin also won with his Animal Factory entry. This will be on display at the yard later this summer.

Practical information

The work ‘Public Air Filters’ can be seen from July 11 on the Ms. Van Riemsdijkweg at the NDSM wharf. The exhibition ‘Asbestos The Magic Mineral’ can be seen in New Dakota from mid-September.

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