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Radical Connection is explores the intersection of academia and environmental urgency. The VOX-POP's 2023-2024 Student Programme Team has curated this exhibition in collaboration with Klimaatmuseum, and it is our pleasure to present a collection of works that serve as conduits for a radical dialogue and change. The diverse works by Lorena Rode, Bibi Bliekendaal, Yufei Gao and KIEM reflect the multidisciplinary nature of our approach to understanding and addressing climate change. Through this exhibition, we aim to catalyze thought-provoking discussions, inspire innovative solutions, and cultivate a deeper sense of responsibility towards our planet.
Event details of EXHIBITION// Radical Connection
Start date
6 June 2024
End date
25 August 2024
Location
BG 3
Room
VOX-POP

Meet the artists and their artworks

Lorena Rode

Lorena Rode

Practices of mourning our natural world

Tales of the Extinct is an art project that aims to build a practice of mourning for the vast amount of loss of the natural world that we face today. The works and words act as artistic fossils that carry on lost or forgotten legacies. Handcraft and fable is used to honor plant species, to represent and re-imagine their intrinsic value. The artist thereby pledges for their right to be known, protected and preserved.

The science of handcraft is well fused with organic shapes by using both hard and soft materials. By doing so, the works attempt to bridge the gap between our idea of human-made vs. made by nature. This imagined binary worsens and weakens our connection to other species at large. The artist hopes the artworks awaken curiosity, connectivity and a sense of care towards our lost species as well as those that still live among us.

Yufei Gao

Yufei Gao

Gaia, how are you today?

In our modern urban homes, only a part of nature remains in the clay pot. To reflect on our relationship with the non-human through technology, Yufei Gao made a collection of terracotta pots. Each pot is 3D printed using the weather data of one specific day. The more the temperature, the humidity and the wind speed deviate from their averages, the more distorted the shape becomes. In this way, the extremely precise 3D printer must surrender to the mood of Gaia, embodying the long-neglected voice of the non-human.

Bibi Bliekendaal

Bibi Bliekendaal

‘The Green Car’ Greening Urban Carpark

The concept of transforming a car park space into a living, growing car sculpture in the heart of Amsterdam represents a departure from conventional notions of transportation and urban utilisation. Rooted in the idea of reconnecting with nature and community, this project symbolises a shift away from the fast-paced, consumptive culture towards a slower, more intentional way of living. By cultivating a sculpture with plants in the confines of a parking space, the artist not only challenges the dominance of car culture, but also creates a novel, shared space for reflection and interaction.

Documenting the process of this living artwork as a digital installation further emphasises the interconnectedness between urban spaces, social architecture and nature, inviting viewers to witness the slow, deliberate growth of the sculpture as a counterpoint to the immediacy of modern life.

KIEM

KIEM

Climate Grief and Inter-species Neighbourliness

The installation challenges traditional notions of climate justice by extending empathy and consideration to non-human species, aiming to disrupt hierarchical structures and human-centric environmental shaping within urban spaces. The artwork consists of two butterflies crafted from dried chestnut leaves, accompanied by a soundwork that immerses visitors in the experience. The narrative behind the piece originates from the loss of green spaces in Amsterdam-Noord, prompting reflection on the grief for trees and their ecosystems. Drawing from folklore and myths of souls returning as butterflies, the artist expanded the concept of mourning to encompass both human and non-human losses.

Complementing the visual aspect, the sound work incorporates the rustling of autumn leaves from neighboring trees in Amsterdam-Noord, evoking the presence of the wind as a carrier of souls. Intertwined with text reflecting on grief and remembrance for lost trees, the soundwork invites visitors to immerse themselves in the auditory landscape, enhancing the multi- sensory experience of the installation.

Tessel, Pati, Sara, Fern, Miles (foto: Bente Tas)

Our Student Programme Team

Every year, a group of talented students join their forces together at VOX-POP. Through a talent development programme, they gain experience as cultural program makers. They learn to curate and produce a programme, from editing to production. The 2023-2024 Student Programme Team consists of Fern, Tessel, Miles, Sara and Pati! 

*censored*
From Radical Disconnection to Radical Connection

What you don't see here are the four artworks of the exhibition Radical Connection. The works have been withdrawn and transformed into a site-specific work of censorship, under the new name of Radical Disconnection, as a response to recent events on campus and the current crisis happening in Gaza. We have chosen to veil the works because we stand in solidarity with the students and staff of UvA for Palestine. We feel radically disconnected from the manner inwhich the institution has dealt with the protests so far, some of which happened onthis very doorstep. We seek radical connection. The artists will lift the censorship and reveal the original works, when the demands of the students are met. Until these demands are met, the site-specific work, Radical Disconnection, is intended to express our concerns about the current situation. The new work also connects environmental justice to Israel's occupation of Palestine, highlighting the systematic human rights violations against the Palestinian people, and devastating impacts on the environment.

Radical Connection & the Klimaatmuseum

The exhibition 'Radical Connection' stands alongside the four-month-long pop-up Klimaatmuseum in VOX-POP. Co-developed by students and researchers of the UvA Faculty of Humanities, the exhibition of the Klimaatmuseum aims to make the urgency of the climate crisis palpable to the public.

Are you looking for more insight, a new perspective or ways to contribute to the solution on the theme of climate justice and sustainability? Then you’re in the right place at the Klimaatmuseum. After the opening on 30 May, the  Klimaatmuseum will be free to visit until mid-September.

BG 3

Room VOX-POP
Binnengasthuisstraat 9
1012 ZA Amsterdam