Sjoerd Westbroek » The Smooth and the Striated

The Smooth and the Striated is an exhibition which took place from July 2nd until August 1st 2010 at Huize Frankendael and Nieuw Dakota. It was organised by Amsterdam University and free-lance curator Flora Lysen and ran parallel to Connect, Continue, Create, an international conference on the French philosopher Gilles Deleuze. Other artists included Tom Tlalim (ISR), Saskia van Imhoff (NL), Jasmijn Visser (NL), Persijn Broersen & Margit Lukacs (NL en IT), Krien Clevis (NL) and Pieter Paul Pothoven (NL).

For the work Mirror Maze in Nieuw Dakota I designed a metal frame-like object which both defined the space in which it was standing and suggested a viewing position from which one could look at a large drawing on a nearby wall. The object literally framed the drawing and could thus be used as looking device. The relationship between sculpture and drawing was non-specific and abstract. The use of the sculpture was not prescribed, it could be used to stand in, look at or out of, and to climb on. The drawing was very abstract as well, but for other reasons, namely its very specific visual motif: it was a hand-traced text from a patent registration of a mirror maze, made using an overhead projector. It uses language to describe a very concrete object, namely a piece of funfair architecture intended to create the illusion of endless space for its visitors.

In Huize Frankendael I showed the work The Club of Queer Trades, an installation consisting of a floor drawing, a small show case, a 2 minute animation and a paper work on the window.