Video installation
March 2022Collaborative project with Toni Wagner and Annebel Breij
How do people conform, how do they transgress expectations in different spaces? What happens if we let two stages glitch and create a new way of conforming in the spaces of a museum and a casino?
Museums and Casinos are both institutions that deeply connect with human urges, may it be either gambling which connects with the illusion of wealth, or the possibility of the white cube which connects with social status, education, and the illusion of intellectuality.
Museums collect, take care and interpret objects, artefacts, and other material evidence of human history and make them available for viewing by the general public. They create a space for contemplation, philosophy, curiosities, and a meeting ground for culturally interested people. Behind the scenes, it is often still the market that is in control: in the form of the rich upper class deciding the worth of art pieces through expanding and selling their personal collection. It is almost as if their money buys them taste. Or does it not?
Casinos are facilities, usually public, where people can participate in different gambling games. Casinos play with notions of opulence that create illusions of wealth, capital, status, and that „money always leads to happiness“. They are mainly focused on creating an atmosphere that gives guests the feeling of being on that journey to happiness. By designing the space as luxurious and timeless as possible they lure you in and take your money. The power of the illusion of opulence is the demonstration of wealth and power that can be easily accessed by the middle and working class, they feel they can reach the status they have been denied.
It is a stage to present an act. Performance about wealth, intelligence and value. This observation made me irritated, because why do we want to stage this act? Who cares? When I look more objectively at this structure of both bodies, it actually awakens interest in me. When a performance is shown, there is also a script and scenery that can be modified.
The scenery of a casino can also take several forms instead of what it is now. Actually, that also happens when you look at Las Vegas and all the crazy themes associated with casinos, just to stand out. The best decor wins. Is there any way we can break down the decor? Showing the true nature of the theatre. Roll up the carpet, go backstage and turn on the non-charming white lights. Or what happens when the sets change regularly, making it clearly a theatre.
It might be a bit complicated to talk about a theatre all the time, because it mainly deals with space and location. But the theatre can also be projected onto the visitor and performer. An actor, which could be an artist or casino employee. Who has a script on how to behave and wear clothing that suits this profession and role.
The musino as a stage
Our conclusion: both institutions can be seen as a Theatre, a play where people conform to certain roles. Each space leads to different expectations and interactions. That triggered us to investigate and observe both spaces and the underlying scripts they use to build up their illusionary play. We went to Museums and Casinos in Eindhoven to analyse the behaviour of people within the space. The gathered observations were put into the form of Scripts, which led to our performances.