Picture a vacuum (2024)
A video poem about everyday objects as an extension of our memories.
picture by Studio Luidspreker
As part of the exhibition Schoonheid (‘Beauty’), a retrospective of architecture photographer Machteld Schoep, I was asked by museum van Bommel van Dam to respond to her work. I explored the question: can a space house memories?
In Schoep’s photographs, I noticed objects in which the human trace lingered, even though people were mostly absent. These objects appeared absurd, random, and yet incredibly specific. Some were carefully chosen to decorate the space, while others seemed accidentally placed or even undefinable in function. Together, they hinted at untold stories of human presence, subtly figuring in the background of our daily lives.
I cut a selection of objects out of the photographs and wrote a contemplative monologue about a person with a rigid routine, slowly becoming one with the objects around her. This voiced monologue, combined with the images, resulted in a rhythmic video poem reflecting on space as an extension of ourselves, where memories are stored and forgotten.
The video was displayed among secondhand furniture and decor, echoing the interior styles depicted in Schoep’s photographs.
picture by Studio Luidspreker
picture by Studio Luidspreker
The drawer of the TV stand was filled with stickers featuring the objects hidden in the background of Schoep's photographs, which the audience was invited to take home, spreading tracing of the objects among new spaces.
Written, directed, and edited by: Rosa Vrij | Commissioned and produced by museum van Bommel van Dam | Voice actress: Princess Isatu Hassan Bangura | Audio recorded by: Edis van der Pajazetovic (Banka-studio’s) | Curated by: Sjors Bindels | Featuring quotes from: Kae Tempest, Georges Perec, Martin Buber, Italo Calvino | Special thanks to: Ben Weir | All images in the video are cut from Machteld Schoep’s photographs
