DIANA GHEORGHIU with JILL VERWEIJEN & LINNÉA GERRITS—WHATEVER REMAINS UNCHANGED IS ALREADY DEAD
Invasions, pandemics and increasingly rising temperatures. The idea of an apocalypse no longer seems far-fetched. Tapping into this widespread fear, new markets have emerged, offering exclusive survival gadgets and so called doomsday bunkers: luxurious private shelters – equipped with swimming pools and self-sufficient food and water supplies.
Artist Diana Gheorghiu draws inspiration from these luxury doomsday bunkers and the human desire to outlive societal collapse in comfort. In her 3D animated film Whatever remains unchanged is already dead, she features three characters who land on a remote island with access to unlimited wellness therapies. Gheorghiu examines how these spaces can be viewed as centres for planning and preparing for an uncertain future.
For the exhibition at Das Leben am Haverkamp Gheorghiu collaborates with set designers Jill Verweijen and Linnéa Gerrits, to make her work tangible. They guide the audience through a corridor reminiscent of an MRI scanner, yet also evoking the sense of a birth canal. In an indeterminate space, covered in green carpets, they invite you to experience the absurdity of a consumer society where health and safety appear to be for sale. At least, for those who can afford it…
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Diana Gheorghiu (1985) is a Romanian artist living in The Hague, Netherlands. Her work features computer-generated characters presented as videos, installations and static images. These dissociated selves illustrate a form of personhood that subsumed the body under regimes of control in response to an uncertain world. Through these characters, Gheorghiu explores themes of health and emerging trends in the wellness industry.
Jill Verweijen (1992) and Linnéa Gerrits (1993) are set designers who first met while studying photography at the Royal Academy of Arts in The Hague. During their studies, they developed a growing interest in staging their images and presenting their work. This led them to focus more on set design. They often draw inspiration from a time when buildings, spaces, and furniture were crafted with greater consideration, not just functionality. This translates into a dreamlike space where chairs are not just for sitting but where every object can become something unexpected.
OPENING during HOOGTIJ
27 September, 19:00—23:00 h
OPENING HOURS
Saturdays and Sundays
27 September—13 October, 11:00—17:00 h
MUSEUMNACHT THE HAGUE
12 October, 19:00—00:00 h
Museumnacht ticket required
ON APPOINTMENT
mail to joost@daslebenamhaverkamp.com
LOCATION
Stille Veerkade 19, The Hague
free entrance and partly wheelchair accessible
Supported by Creative Industries Fund NL, Mondriaan Fonds and Gemeente Den Haag.